Win a Date
by shamrockin
Summary: What happens when Edward, Emmett and Jasper raffle themselves off to raise money? And who will win them? There could be trouble ahead! *First Fic...please forgive*
1. Just In Case

**A/N: So this is A/U A/H, eventual canon pairings. This is my first fanfic, I always get these ideas, but normally I don't follow through. Also…it seems like Emmett is always Bella's brother in these all human fics, so I decided to change it up and make Jasper her brother. And all the boys are on the basketball team…because I am a b-ball fanatic!  
For those who don't know basketball very well…A center is like Shaq, and shooting guard is like Kobe, or Dwayne Wade. A small forward is like Tayshaun Prince. Point guard is like Chauncey Billups, and power forward is like Kevin Garnett. Or, you know, if you don't even know those players… I'll be like Edward and tell you to Google it. And finally, this chapter is short, because it's like a set up…the next one will be longer. And I want warn anyone who reads this…I wont be updating every day, because I have a crazy job, but I will try to update 3 times a week and I promise at least once a week. Ok, my note is over.**

Chapter One - Just In Case

CoachPOV:

"What type of fundraiser should we have this year boys?" I asked my team.  
"Why do we need a fundraiser?" asked my star center Emmett Cullen.  
"I thought we could use new uniforms, and you know how it is in a small town like Forks. The school board won't approve that kind of expense so soon after the football team got new uniforms" I answered.  
The boys all looked at each other.  
"Come on, I know some of you have ideas, spit em out"  
"Well, we could have a boy auction" said Mike Newton, our point guard.  
"That could work" said Tyler Crowley, power forward, "But how about a boy raffle, that way even girls without a lot of money have a chance for a date….and you don't have to be embarrassed when no one wants to spend more than $5 on you, Mike" The whole team howled as Mike turned red.  
"Whatever" he mumbled.  
"I'm so in," Emmett added.  
"Does everyone have to participate?" asked Jasper Whitlock, my shooting guard.  
"Yes," I said, shaking my head at the protest I could see coming, "We are a team, so everyone on the team has to participate."  
"Well, how much will we charge for the tickets? And will we sell separate tickets for each player, or just tickets and draw in a random order?" asked Edward Cullen, Emmett's younger brother and the best small forward this school had ever seen.  
"I think each guy should sell tickets for themselves, and there should be a minimum requirement…so people can't punk out," said Mike, glancing over at Jasper, who winced.  
"Good idea, Mike." I said, "I'll talk to my wife about getting some tickets for you boys, and I'll let the teacher's and administration know what you're doing."

JPOV:

"I can't believe I have to do this." I complained to my two best friends as we left the gym after practice. "And you," I jabbed my finger at Emmett, "why did you have to be so gung-ho about it!"

"Hey man," Emmett said, putting is hands up in surrender, "My thought was that we could finally get my little bro a date."  
I glared at Emmett, but then I grinned.  
Edward seemed to have no reaction. I looked at him closely; the tool was ignoring us and listening to his I-Pod. Probably some of that weird "I'm sensitive but not emo" stuff he likes.  
"Well Emmett, you just converted me." I said.  
"Besides," Emmett added, "Maybe we can move from friends to a more exclusive relationship with our girls."  
At this I was puzzled. That chances that Alice, my sort-of but not official girl-friend would win me were slim, and the chances of Rosalie, Emmett's friend with partial benefits, would win him were equally as slim. "How do you figure?" I asked him.  
Emmett smiled down at me and shook his head ruefully. "A, they win us, and we use it to our advantage. Or B, some other girl wins us and they get jealous and we use that to our advantage."  
I stopped and looked at him in surprise, "That's kind of brilliant." I said.  
"Well, just because I'm big and goofy, doesn't mean I'm dumb." He huffed.  
"Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow." I said, heading away toward my car, waving to catch Edward's attention.  
Edward gave me a thumbs up, and Emmett shouted, "Later, bro," as they headed to Emmett's jeep.  
I sighed; this whole boy raffle was bound to get interesting. I could already picture Mike pestering every girl on school grounds. Emmett wouldn't have any trouble selling his quota, and truthfully neither would I. Edward, on the other hand, could have a problem. I wasn't that he wasn't good looking. I know the girls like him, because I always hear them whispering and giggling to each other when he's walks by, but the boy is oblivious. And despite being a basketball superstar, he is tragically shy around girls, causing him to seem aloof and kind of stuck up.  
Maybe I could get my step-sister Bella to buy a bunch of his tickets, and Alice and Rosalie would probably be willing to buy some as well. Between Emmett and me, we would get Eddie's tickets sold!

EdwardPOV:

I sat back in Emmett's jeep, still listening to my I-Pod. Now that it is winter and basketball season, I ride with Emmett instead of us each driving into school everyday. On one hand, it saved gas money; on the other hand, I loved my Volvo. Emmett likes to tease me that I treat it like it's an Aston Martin. To him that's like treating a high school girl like she's Angelina Jolie.  
I sighed, thinking about the team's big plan to raise money for new uniforms. I did not want to have to ask any of the girls at school to buy tickets. I know Emmett and Jasper thought I was shy, but mostly I just thought the girls at our school were insipid and way too giggly. The only girls worth knowing, Alice and Rosalie, were already taken, well not taken yet, but they would be. I'm also sure that Emmett and Jasper thought I didn't hear them talking about their plans to make it official with the girls. I sighed again; the only other girl I was interested in was off limits. One, she was my best friends sister, well Bella was Jasper's step-sister, but he protects her like they're blood. Two, I was actually very shy around her. She was way out of my league, beautiful, smart, and nice. And three, she was already dating that sasquatch Jacob from the Quileute Res outside of town. I shook my head at myself. Jacob was perfectly nice, and never done anything to make me dislike him so…other than date Bella. He was gone at school however, and I was hopeful that they would find they did not want the trouble of a long-distance relationship. I snorted. Even then I would have no chance…but I would still ask her to buy a raffle ticket, just in case.


	2. This is the Year

**A/N: I neglected to mention in my last note that for the purposes of my story I have made Jacob older than Bella by two grades. She is a junior in high school and he is a freshman in college. I also want to thank everyone who added me as a favorite and to those who reviewed. It's kinda cool to get those emails! Now, without further ado, chapter deux.**

Chapter Two - This is the Year

BellaPOV:

"Jacob, I can't just drop everything in my life and drive to Seattle to see you." I said into the phone, sighing.

People were not kidding when they said that long-distance relationships were difficult. Ever since he left for college, Jacob has been extremely needy. When he lived 15 minutes down the road on the reservation we would go a couple days without seeing each other or talking, now he calls every night, like he's checking up on me. It's been stressful, and I haven't even told him I don't want to go to the University of Washington.

That was our plan when I was in eighth grade and he was a sophomore and we started dating, but since Charlie remarried, and to a wealthy woman, I no longer have to stay in state to cut costs. Not that her wealth had anything to do with why Charlie married Jasper's mom, he didn't even know she was rich when they started dating. Marie could have been poor as a church mouse and I would have loved her and Jasper, but the added bonus of her money meant that I could now go to any school I wanted. I knew where I wanted to go…Dartmouth, but I had neglected to tell Jacob…for the past two years, thinking that I would wait till he was in college, living it up, to tell him. Instead, he made me feel so bad about how much he missed me every time we talked that I felt too guilty say anything. I knew it was time to end the relationship, but I wasn't sure how. I hate conflict, and since Jacob is my first and only boyfriend, it's not like I have experience to fall back on. Wait a minute, that's it!

"Bella, are you even listening to me?" I heard the disappointment in Jacob's voice and realized that during my reverie he had been telling me something.

"I'm sorry Jake, I was thinking about this paper I have for English Lit, its due Friday and I only have the outline done." I lied. I had finished the paper over the weekend, and it was now sitting on Jasper's desk waiting to be edited when he got home from basketball practice.

"Well, I don't want you to get a bad grade," Jake said, "I'll let you go and call you tomorrow night."

"Bye Jake."

'Bye Bella, I love you." I hung up quickly, hoping he would think I hadn't heard him. I seemed wrong to say "I love you" as I was plotting our break-up. Which, actually, I still had to plan. It was time to call Alice.

I dialed her number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hola!" Alice greeted me with her eternally cheerful voice.

"Alice, I need your help." I said quickly and then pulled the phone away from my ear.

"Finally!!" I heard her squeal," Are you going to let me take you with me to the mall, or do I have to pick out your outfits on my own?"

"No Alice, I don't need help with my clothes" I sighed.

"Yes you do…but if that's not what you called for, then what is?" She questioned me.

"I need to know how to break up with someone." I answered. Before Jasper had moved from his Dad's place in Texas to Forks to live with Charlie, Marie and I, Alice had been quite popular with the boys. It was only since he caught her I that she had broken up with Eric and stopped her constant flirting. Now she focused all her attention on Jasper, and she had hopes that he was going to finally make their relationship official. I hope so too, I was sick of hearing her sigh about him all day.

"Bella!" Alice practically shouted, "are you going to break up with Jacob!?"

"Do I have another boyfriend?" I said with a touch of sarcasm.

"No, but I just can't believe it. I thought you loved him." She said.

"I do, it's just changed in to a different kind of love. More like how I love Jasper."

"Which better be like a brother, or I would have to never speak to you again." Alice sniffed.

"Well, anyway, I don't really know how to go about breaking up with someone, and I thought, since you do, you could help me." I said.

"I think I need to confer with Rosalie about this." Alice said thoughtfully, "Can I get back to you tomorrow?"

"Sure" I replied, "Night, Alice."

As, I set my phone on the bedside stand, I heard the front door open and shut.

"Jazzy!" I shouted running out of my room to the top of the stairs, where I promptly slipped and landed on my butt on the top step.

"Sup, Bells?" Jasper asked me, grinning at my clumsiness.

"I need you to proofread my English Lit paper. Please, please please!" I begged him, sticking out my lower lip and batting my eyelashes prettily.

"Ok, ok. But first I have to tell you what Coach is makin us do." Jasper replied.

"Umm, crazy ladder drills?" I guessed.

"Well, that too. Coach decided the team needs new uniforms, so he is making us have a boy raffle. Girls can buy tickets for a chance to win a date with a team member." Jasper said, grimacing.

"That's not right!" I exclaimed, "He shouldn't make you objectify yourselves that way!"

"Chill Bells, it was Mike Newton's idea, Coach just went along with it. Even Emmett was ok with it. The only people against it were Edward and I" Jasper said soothingly.

"Well of course Edward would be against it, I mean, does he even speak to members of the opposite sex? Ooo, does Alice know? She is not gonna like this. Emmett was for it, Rosalie will not like that! I'm so glad I don't have to worry about my boyfriend being in a 'win a date' contest. I bet Jessica will take this opportunity to try and steal you away from Alice…" I rambled on and on. Finally Jasper reached out and put a finger on my lips.

"Emmett and I are going to try to use this opportunity to make it official with Rosalie and Alice, so could you please not get them all worked up, or tell them? And yes, Edward can speak to members of the opposite sex; he just doesn't talk to you. And Jessica has no chance." Jasper finished answering my questions, and then headed toward his room. "Now I am going to shower and read your paper. Please don't ask me anymore questions about the boy raffle. I will find out more at practice tomorrow and I will fill you in tomorrow night." He threw over his shoulder at me as his door shut.

I stood up and headed into my room. This was a lot to think about.

AlicePOV:

I stared at my phone for a few minutes after I hung up with Bella.

I had been hoping she would break up with Jacob for a while now. Not because I didn't like him, in fact as far as boyfriends go, he was pretty great. I just thought Bella deserved to date more than one guy in her whole life. If Jacob had his way, Bella would to college with him, move back to Forks, marry him and live on the Reservation for the rest of her life. And Bella was meant for more. And I knew just who that more should be. I had it all figured out. If we could just get Bella and Edward together then everything would be perfect. Rosalie with Emmett, Jasper with me, and Bella with Eddie, one big, happy family. Rosalie and I nearly had our boys in line, but I lived in fear the Edward would start dating someone like Jessica or Lauren and I would have to hang out with them, and I wasn't sure I could handle that. I grinned to myself, its time to plan Bella's breakup! I picked up my phone and dialed Rosalie's number.

"Hello?" Rose answered her phone, "I just talked to you 30 minutes ago, Alice."

"I know, I know, but after I hung up from you, Bella called." I paused.

"And…" Rosalie said impatiently.

"And, she is going to break up with Jacob, but she's not sure how to do it. She asked for our help." I said, barely keeping the excitement from my voice. I hadn't revealed my dream of us being a sextet to Rosalie yet, and I knew she had always liked Jacob.

"It's about time." Rosalie huffed."

"What!?" I asked her.

"Well I know Bella has been feeling weird about how clingy he is now that he's at school. I figure if they are meant to be, they will get back together in a few years. Bella needs someone closer."

"Agreed," I said, smiling to myself, "But how should she break up with Jake? He is not going to take it well."

"The have been going out for over three years, she should do it in person." Rosalie mused, "But she should have someone with her, because you know the minute he protests and makes her feel bad, she'll cave."

"Maybe we could go on a shopping trip into Seattle and take Bella with us. She could break up with Jacob and I could get new shoes. It's a win win!" I said.

"That could work. Let's run it by Bella at lunch tomorrow." Rosalie agreed.

I hung up after saying good bye to Rose and stared up at my ceiling. My mind wandered to Jasper, as it frequently does, and I again wished I hadn't been such a flirt before he came to town. I always feel like he hasn't asked me out because he doesn't think I am serious about him. He has no idea how much I like him. I even bought a Texas shaped belt buckle, which is so not my style; so that when he finally asks me out I can wear it for him. It's been in my drawer for over a year now. This is year I will wear the belt buckle! I thought to myself, and I got off my bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. This is the year!


	3. An Eeyoretype Guilt Cloud

**A/N: So I wanted to add that Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie are seniors and Bella, Alice and Edward are juniors. That's all!**

Chapter Three - An Eeyore-type Guilt Cloud

JasperPOV:

I was getting worried. Normally Bella spent her lunch reading, or doing homework with Angela. Normally Rosalie and Alice would be over here sitting with Emmett, Edward, and me. Instead, they were huddled up with Bella at a small table in the corner of the cafeteria. This could not be good. This had a figurative neon PLOTTING sign blinking above it. Although they were good friends, Bella usually stayed out of Rose and Alice's shenanigans, and I like it that way. After all, I lived with Bella and I did not need her "helping" Alice with torture she was putting me through.  
When I had moved here last school year, I had been entranced by Alice. She was shorter than me by at least a foot, but I liked that. It made me feel very protective of her. Alice was beautiful with short, dark hair and brown eyes that looked like melted chocolate. She had flirted with me from day one, and I had been about to ask her out, when Bella had casually mentioned that she was surprised that Alice had broken up with Eric. Apparently he was the most recent of many, and Bella had thought that Alice was finally going to settle down with one guy for more than a month. That news made me stop and think. I did not want Alice to get me too easily and drop me too quickly. That kind of relationship didn't suit me. I had pulled back and maintained a friendship instead of asking her out. Although we occasionally did things just the two of us, mostly we just hung out in a group with our other friends. Lately, Alice had decided that we had been friends long enough and had started doing little things that drove me crazy… and not in a straight-jacket way, but in a 'drag her to my room and lock the door' way.

"Dude…earth to J!" I heard Emmett say, so I focused my attention back to our table.

"What?"

"I think the girls are planning something…and I feel that can't be good." Emmett said.

"I was just thinking the same," I replied, "And wondering why they dragged my Bella into it."

"Your Bella?" Edward broke in, "I thought you liked Alice."

"I do, but Bella is my lil sis now and I do not need Rosalie and Alice rubbing off on her." I answered him.

"I agree, she's perfect the way she is" Edward mumbled under his breath. Emmett didn't hear him, but I did. I looked at Edward contemplatively. Eddie liked Bella? No wonder he got so quiet around her. That also explained his unspoken resentment toward Jacob. Sometimes I swore I could feel the tension rolling off Edward whenever Jacob joined us in a pick-up game.

"Well, if they are plotting something, we should plot as well." Emmett said, grinning, "We should ask Coach if we can spice up this Boy Raffle."

"In what way?" I asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"The night of the drawings, we should perform on stage." Emmett said triumphantly.

"What do you mean perform?" I said, fear in my voice, "We can't sing!"

"No I read about this school that has a "pageant" for boys to raise money for their hearing impaired program. Each guy had to have a casual outfit, a dress outfit and they each have to do a talent performance," Emmett started explaining, "The twist is, that for their talent portion, instead of singing, or playing an instrument or ballet like girls do, they have to dance and strip down to their boxers!"

"A school allows this?" Edward interrupted.

"You read?" I asked at the same time.

"Well, I think they have to wear biker shorts under the boxers, something like that. And they have certain dance moves they aren't allowed to do. But the school allows it because it raises so much money. And so maybe my mom read it and just told me about it." Emmett finished, smiling proudly.

"This is a terrible idea!" Edward said, the horror in his voice reflected in his facial expression. "And I can't believe mom would approve!"

"I don't like it either," I said, "But just think of the money making opportunity. We could get new uniforms and donate money to a charity, or to the school library, the possibilities are endless."

"Plus, the fact that you don't want to do it, total bonus!" Emmett crowed happily.

BellaPOV:

"I think Jasper is worried about what we are planning" I said to Alice, smiling.

"Good, let him think the worst, it keeps him on his toes." She replied, giggling.

"So anyway," Rosalie interrupted, "Alice and I think that you should definitely break up with Jacob in person. We can all drive to Seattle this weekend and Ali and I will wait in the car while you do it, that way we can support you, and give you an exit strategy."

"But what should I say?" I asked them, feeling incredibly nervous already, even though it's Tuesday and The Break Up wouldn't happen until Saturday. (I had been thinking of it in capital letters ever since I had made the decision to really do it.) I bit my lower lip and gave them my best pleading look.

"We can't tell you what to say, Bella, it wouldn't be right." Alice said sympathetically, rubbing my shoulder.

"I can tell you that honesty is the best policy," Rosalie said, "Just explain to him how you feel."

"Like how I still care about him, but I think our lives are headed in different directions. As in I'm going East Coast and he's staying here." I said, looking up at Alice and Rosalie through my hair.

"East Coast!" Alice exclaimed.

"Shh" I hushed her, "You are the first people I've told. I want to go to Dartmouth, not University of Washington"

"That is so cool." Rosalie said, "You will be easier for me to visit if you are at Dartmouth."

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"I am going to Harvard next year, I got an early acceptance!" Rosalie said smiling proudly.

"This is awesome!" Alice squealed, "I want to go to Emerson, we'll all be so close!"

"This is all good, but if you ladies will excuse me, I have to go rehearse my break up speech." I said nodding to Alice and Rose and standing up.

"Rehearse all you want, but if you use note cards that's taking it too far!" Alice called after me as I walked away.  
I sighed; The Break Up was hovering over me like an Eeyore-type guilt cloud.

**A/N: In addition..the whole boy pageant thing, I did not make that up. My high school actually did that every year until, like, two years ago. We called it Mr. Shamrock (our school mascot in a shamrock) Junior and Senior girls would vote on what boys they wanted to participate and then the boys had to come up with a dance. For example, one guy did 'She thinks my tractors sexy" and came out in overalls and plaid. Another did the song Fireman and came out in a complete borrowed fireman suit. They would strip and do push-ups, lots of flexing and butt shaking. At the end of the night one guy was crowned Mr. Shamrock by the judges. (All of whom were female teachers) It was my favorite school function and I'm glad I graduated before they stopped doing it!  
**


	4. Love isn't just blind, it's also stupid

**A/N: Ok so this is totally unrelated to Twilight and this story but I wanted to give a shout out to my favorite blog, Cakewrecks ((dot)) com. It's the best! Check it out, and be sure to look at the older posts as well. There is a Tom Selleck cake that had me rolling on the floor in laughter. I also just realized I never put disclaimers up, but if you think these characters are my creation, you have been living under a rock for the last few years.**

EmmettPOV:

I knew that Jasper would back my boy pageant idea, just to mess with Eddie, but now I had to get the coach and the team to agree to it.  
"Hey Coach," I said, poking my head into his office, "Can I talk to you?"

"As long as you're not quitting the team," Coach Spenner joked.

"I have an idea to add to our fundraiser." I said, handing him the article I had printed off the internet, "I think we should add something like this, as entertainment for the night of the raffle drawing. We could charge admission and raise even more money. Jasper and I thought we could donate the extra to a school program or a charity."  
Coach took the article from me and scanned it.

"Jasper agreed to this?" he asked me.

"Yep" I responded, grinning smugly.

"Well, I'll present it to the team after practice today, and if they all agree, we may be able to work it out." Spenner said, shaking his head at me ruefully, "Emmett you are certainly the most interesting person I have ever coached."  
I headed to my locker to change into my practice clothes. My last period of the day was gym aide, and since Spenner also taught gym, he just let me lift. If I was going to play at Boston College I needed to bulk up. I was short for a center, only 6'8'', so I had to make up for it in muscle. Plus, if I was gonna be stripping down to my skivvies I needed to look good for the ladies.

EdwardPOV:

I can't believe Jasper sold me out like that. Couldn't he see that this Boy pageant thing had disaster written all over it? I had worked hard to keep the annoying girls at this school away from me, and in one night Emmett and Jasper were going to destroy all my hard work. There was no point in hoping this wouldn't happen. Once Emmett had a plan he was very convincing, and I could see Coach getting a kick out it. Not to mention, Bella was probably way above something like that, and would only look down on me for participating.  
I headed to English Lit, my last class of the day. I sat two seats behind Bella, and I usually spent the whole class staring at her head and willing her to glance back at me. So far it had happened twice. Once when I had answered a question, and once when I had asked a question. Right now we were reading Romeo and Juliet, and we were at the end where they commit suicide. We had a paper due on the play and I was still working on mine. It was about how Mercutio was the only character in the play worth knowing in real life.  
I slid into my seat just as the bell rang. Bella was hunched over her desk writing furiously. Were those note cards? We didn't have any speeches due.

"Class, may I have your attention!" Ms. White called from the front of the room, "Today we are going change our format a bit. Instead of you students reading out loud, I have brought in two of our drama students to read the death scene. Then we will watch that scene from both the 60's version of Romeo and Juliet and the 96 Baz Luhrman version. Pay attention, because the second half of class we will be discussing this scene and I expect well supported thoughts and arguments."  
The door opened and Rosalie and a senior I only knew in passing, named Josh, came into the room. Rosalie is our resident drama queen, so I could completely see why she would be chosen to read this. This could actually be a very interesting class, I thought to myself, settling in to listen.

BellaPOV:

Rosalie was excellent at dying. The death scene is probably my least favorite in the whole play, but I was entranced by the reading. The idea to contrast the two movies was great, and I wondered in Ms White had come up with it on her own or read it somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I love her and English Lit. is by far my favorite subject, but Ms. White tends to get so wrapped up in passing her love of certain books on to us students that she comes off as kind of kooky.  
In general I far prefer the 60's film, but in the case of the death scene I found I was actually in favor of the Leonardo version. I think because the dagger to the chest is effective, but the echoing of a gun shot is so tragic to listen to, it evokes all sorts of emotions.

"So class, any thoughts?" Ms White asked us when the second movie was over, "Yes, Edward?"

I glanced back at Edward, but his gaze was trained on the teacher.

"I used to hate this play. I never understood why a double suicide was so beloved, but I have to admit, I have never watched either of those movies, or seen the play preformed. Hearing the passion in their voices helped me gain some insight into how the characters felt. I still think it's dumb, but I understand it better." Edward said.

I gasped quietly. That was exactly how I felt. One the one hand, I loved the romance of the balcony scene and the excitement of forbidden love. On the other, I hated that Juliet, or Romeo for that matter, couldn't live without their lover. It seemed so unrealistic. It was, in fact, what my paper was about. I raised my hand.

"Bella" Ms White called on me.

"I agree with Edward. I always hated that Juliet killed herself. I am a firm believer that no one should love another person so much that they can't live with out them. But watching the movie made me realize that this play isn't just a love story that ends in suicide, it's actually a story about the power of love." I said, suddenly feeling shy, the entire class was staring at me like I had sprouted an extra head. I swallowed hard and finished my thought, "Its about the ability love has to make you act irrationally. Love isn't just blind, it's also kind of stupid."

**A/N: I know Bella is supposed to LOVE Romeo and Juliet and she does, but not in the same way as Stephanie Meyer's character. I think I color each character with an aspect of myself, and these characters definitely have the same feelings about R&J as I do. On one hand I love it, on the other, it drives me nuts!**


	5. This situation calls for Google

**Disclaimer: What you thought these were my characters? A rock I say! Or perhaps you are a hermit?**

Chapter Five - This Situation Calls for Google

CoachPOV:

I looked at my team as they gathered in the locker room after practice, smiling proudly. "Two weeks from tonight is our first game of the season, and I can't think of a year when we have been more prepared. My goal for us is the State Finals, and I hope that is your goal as well." I said, looking each boy in the eye.

"Now, on to the money business. If we want the new uniforms for the first game, I have to order them tomorrow. That means I will be using my own money…which means you all better raise enough to pay me back, or the missus will be pissed. Emmett has come up with an idea to increase our money making potential, and he's going to tell us about it now." I said, stepping back and gesturing for Emmett to take my place in front of the team.

Emmett stood up and grinned at his teammates.

"I think we should have a Mr. Spartan pageant," he started, holding up his hand when it looked like some guys were going to interrupt. "It's not as bad as you think. We each would have to come out in casual clothes for an introduction, then formal clothes to answer a question. The best part, though, is our talent. We would each pick a theme and song, and come out and do a dance to it…and strip!"

At this, every single member of the team started talking at once. Mike and Tyler both stood up and yelled "Yes!" Mike even pumped his fist. Edward and Ben were both shaking their heads and protesting. Ian and Sean were smiling and nodding. Jasper stood up and whispered something to Emmett.

"Shut up!" Emmett yelled, signaling for the boys to sit. "Jasper asked me to add that you are only stripping down to your boxers or a bathing suit, and that you should wear spandex shorts underneath," he added.

"So, those in favor please raise your hands." I said, stepping back in front of the team. Everyone except Ben and Edward raised their hands. Mike was bouncing on his seat in excitement.

"Well, the majority has spoken. I will find some female teachers to be your judges, and you boys better get busy selling raffle tickets and coming up with dance routines." I said looking at my team. I shook my head, "This will certainly be interesting."

I passed out raffle tickets to the boys. Each one had a different color. "Raffle tickets are $3 each and each team member has to sell at least 15 tickets." I instructed them, "Please turn your money in to me by next Tuesday. We will have our boy pageant two weeks from Saturday, to give us time to promote it."

"Coach?" Jasper said, getting my attention, "How much are we charging for admission?"

"I hadn't thought of that, what do you think" I asked him.

"I was thinking $5, so girls who bought raffle tickets will still be able to afford to come." He answered me.

"That sounds good." I said nodding to him. "Edward, Ben, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, Coach?" Edward said standing up and coming to me, Ben following him.

"I know you don't want to do this, and in return for your graceful participation, I am going to let you boys pick where the extra money will go, and I would appreciate your advice on which teachers to have be judges." I said to them.

"I think Ms. White might get a kick out of it." Edward said, surprising me with his easy capitulation.

"Mrs. Cope would be a fun judge," Ben added.

"Thanks, boys," I said, then I turned back to team at large and added, "I'll see all of you here tomorrow for practice"

JasperPOV

"Bella!" I yelled as I walked in the door to our house after practice.

"Sup, Jazz?" She called back to me from the kitchen.

Even though my mom was a great cook, Bella would occasionally cook dinner on the nights that mom had her book club at the Cullen's house.

"You will never guess what Emmett has come up with now," I said to her, grinning as I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Knowing him, its something off the wall and kinda crazy." Bella replied, turning to smile at me.

"He has convinced the team to participate in a boy pageant." I said to her, watching for her reaction.

Bella sputtered and set down the knife she was holding.

"A what?!?" She screeched.

"A boy pageant…there is dancing and clothing removal involved." I said to her, laughing slightly, "But don't tell anyone that, I think we are going to give the impression that it's a regular pageant like Miss Forks is."

"You agreed to this?" Bella asked, looking at me skeptically.

"Yeah, mostly to mess with Eddie, and also because the money we raise, aside from what goes to new uniforms, will be given to a charity or school program." I answered her.

"Well at least something good will come from this." Bell said, snorting and turning back to the dinner.

"I need your help!" I blurted out.

"With what?" she asked me.

"I have to come up with a dance…I don't know what song to use, and I have to have some sort of costume that matches the song before I strip out of it! I have no idea what to do. I was impulsive when I agreed to this. I was all "Eddie will hate it" not thinking of myself at all!"

"I will help you, if you promise me something." Bella said, turning and looking at me very seriously.

"Anything," I said gratefully.

"Promise that when I tell you what I am about to tell you, you won't be mad, or tell anyone." Bella said.

"Ummm, ok?" I replied.

"Promise." She insisted.

"Okay, okay, I promise." I said, throwing up the scouts honor sign.

Bella took a deep breath and look at me with trepidation.

"I'mbreakingupwithJacobthisweekend." She said so quickly I wasn't sure I heard her correctly.

"You" I said pointing at her, "are breaking up with Jacob?"

"Yes," she sighed, "and I know you are friends with him, but its just not working for me anymore."

"Bella, you are my sister, I never want you to feel like you have to stay in a relationship with someone because I am friends with them. As your brother, it's my job to take your side." I said to her, standing up and walking over to her. I grabbed her shoulders and looked her square in the eye. "If you've decided Jacob isn't the boy for your, that is fine by me."

"Thanks Jazzy." She mumbled, and hugged me quickly. "Now then," she pushed away from me, "did you finish reading my paper?"

"I'm halfway through it, and I will finish it tonight." I said to her, heading out of the kitchen and up to my room.

BellaPOV:

How in the world was I going to help Jasper come up with a striptease? Clearly this was not my arena of expertise. I wished I could call Rosalie, but Jasper had said I couldn't tell. I finished putting all the ingredients in the soup pot and headed up to my room. This situation calls for Google.


	6. Bad to the bone Bella

**Chapter Six - Bad to the Bone Bella****  
**  
EdwardPOV:

I sighed as I opened to door to the jeep and got in. I have a problem. I am resigned to participating in the boy pageant…and I think that Ben and I will pick a great cause for the money, but I now have to come up with a dance routine! If only we could just do a talent, I could play the piano and everything would be fine. Well, first things first, I should pick a song. I put my headphones on and turned on my iPod. Most of my music was classical or jazz or alternative, but I had a few "gems" on here thanks to Emmett. He went through phases of music, and I usually ended up with his favorites from each genre. As a song from Emmett's 80's phase came on, an idea came to me. I grinned, proud of myself for thinking of it. Now that that's taken care of, I can listen to something I like. I changed the song to New Shoes by Paolo Nutini. It was a bit peppy for my usual self, but I was feeling cheerful.

EmmettPOV:

I looked over at Edward as I drove home. He was smiling and bobbing his head to the music from his iPod. How very un-Edward. I wondered what had him in such a good mood, when just a few minutes ago he was mad at me for the boy pageant.  
I decided not to waste my time thinking about Edward, I had a dance to plan! I already knew what theme I was going to use, but there are so many songs to choose from.

I pulled into the driveway and got out of my car. Edward and I headed into the house together, each of us wrapped up in our own thoughts. As I reached for the door, Edward put his hand on my arm to stop me.

"What are we going to tell mom and dad about this?" He asked me.

"Well, it was mom's article that led to it, so we can tell her, but I think it should be a surprise for dad." I answered him. He let go of my arm and I opened the door.

"Aside from Rosalie, who are you going to ask about buying a raffle ticket?" Edward questioned.

"Probably Alice, Bella, Angela, hopefully Rosalie will buy more than one, I hadn't really thought beyond that." I said back, suddenly worried. I knew I wouldn't have trouble selling tickets, but there were definitely girls who I did not want buying tickets.

"I don't know who to ask except Rosalie and Alice." Edward said to me, looking troubled.

"Don't worry bro," I grinned and clapped him on the back, "You know both Jessica and Lauren will both want a chance to win a date with you."

Edward groaned and punched my arm.

"I'm hoping they have forgotten I exist." He said

"That's no way to treat your fans." I said gleefully, "I will make it my personal duty to ensure they know you are alive and well, and available for purchase."

Edward glared at me silently. I think I could hear his teeth grinding. He opened his mouth to say something, probably not very nice, when our mother, Esme, walked into the room.

"Boys, I'm so glad you're here! My book club is meeting here tonight and I need some furniture moved." She said, shooing us toward the living room.

I grimaced at Edward and we both rolled our eyes. The Forks Ladies Book Club was a joke. I doubt any of the women, except possibly Esme and Jasper's mom Marie, even read any of the books. They just wanted an excuse to gather and gossip about their children, husbands, and the people of Forks. It was like Gossip Girl, the Forks edition.

BellaPOV:

I sat at my computer with my finger ready to click the search button. Typed into the search bar was the words 'themed striptease." I was hesitating because I was very afraid of what my results would be should I actually go through with the search. I had promised Jasper I would help him, but I did not think I was creative enough to come up with something for him.

As I sat contemplating my imminent search, my phone rang. I jumped, and then reached out to answer it.

"Is it true?" Alice asked my excitedly. I could tell she was bouncing on her bed.

"Is what true?" I asked her cautiously, determined to keep Jasper's boy pageant a secret.

"Rosalie overheard Jessica and Lauren say that Mike and Tyler told them that the boys basketball team will be raffling off dates." Alice responded, still bouncing.

"Ohhhh, that." I said, relief tingeing my voice.

"You knew!" Alice yelled accusation rife in her tone, "and you didn't tell Rose and me?"

"I forgot, I was all worried about breaking up with Jake and it slipped my mind." I said to her apologetically.

"Wait a minute, what did you think I meant?" Alice said suspiciously.

I froze, wondering what I could possibly say to her.

"I thought you meant that rumor about Edward and Jessica." I lied, striving to make my voice casual. I was so glad Alice wasn't in the room with me, because I can't lie without blushing, and right now I was red as a tomato.

"She told everyone that Edward asked her out, but I have it from Jasper that Edward hasn't said more than two words to her this whole school year." I continued, proud of myself for the fantastic lie.

"Well that was stupid of her." Alice said, tsking.

"Listen, Alice, I have to go, I am making dinner." I lied yet again, twice in one night, I am so bad.

"See you tomorrow! Don't forge to ask Charlie and Marie about going to Seattle on Saturday." Alice returned and then hung up.

I set the phone down and headed to Jasper's room.

I stood in his doorway and looked around the room, and inspiration struck.

"Jazz, you should totally play up your accent for the boy pageant, and then we could use a western theme for your talent!" I said excitedly. "I know you don't love country music, but we could make it really funny and cute!"

"I will think about it." Jasper said, without much enthusiasm. "Maybe if you refine that idea…" he trailed off.

I turned to go downstairs and check on the soup, when I remembered why I had originally come to his room.

"So, umm, if Alice asks, Jessica lied about Edward asking her out, but you know its not true, mkay?" I said to him sheepishly.

"You lied to Alice, and you want me to cover for you? And why such a lame lie?" Jasper asked me.

"Ok, so I almost let the boy pageant thing slip and I have to cover and come up with some sort of gossip that would satisfy her. I actually lied twice in that conversation." I said, looking down at my toes.

"Twice?" Jasper grinned at me, "My, my, you are quite the bad girl aren't you."

"Yup that's me," I giggled, "Bad to the bone."

**A/N: So I do realize that I am being vague about the boys' dance routines, but I want to actually describe them when it happens, and I want it to be a surprise...so I am giving hints but not revealing all until later!**


	7. Bitch, Where is my money?

**A/N: Thank you to those of you who review, especially tjPCfreak who rarely misses a chapter! I had a dream about this story last night and I am so excited to write, that this chapter practically wrote itself!**

**Regarding the origin of these characters…if they had come from my brain, I would not have $16,000 in student loans to pay back! What about it SM, wanna pay off my schooling?**

**Chapter Seven - Bitch, Where is my money?  
**

AlicePOV:

I had a plan, now I had to implement it. First, I had to get Rosalie in on it. Then, I would have to convince Bella to fall in line. Piece of cake.

I got out of my care and headed toward Rosalie's.

"Hey, Rose! I confirmed with Bella, the boys will be selling raffle tickets." I said to her as she stepped out of her car.

"Yeah, well I don't like it. What if Emmett ends up with some cute freshman girl, decides looks aren't everything, and ditches me for her?" Rosalie pouted.

"Not gonna happen, he would never drop you!" I said reassuringly, "But on to more important things. I think this is the perfect opportunity for Bella to get back in the saddle."

"You do realize she's still in her current saddle, right?" Rose joked.

"I know, but only until Saturday. I think we should make her buy tickets from Emmett, Jasper, and Edward, and also any other team member who asks her." I said.

"She's never going to agree to that." Rose scoffed at me.

"Oh yes she will." I said confidently, "She lied to me on the phone last night, and she is gonna feel so guilty, she'll probably agree to anything I say today."

"How do you know she lied?" Rose asked me.

"I knew the minute she said Jessica's name. Bella can't stand her, and she would not be listening to gossip that concerns her." I answered.

I looked across the parking lot to where Bella and Jasper were getting out of their car, having just arrived.

"Let's go." I squealed, heading towards her.

RosaliePOV:

I waved to Bella as Alice and I headed towards her. She said something to Jasper and then stopped, waiting for us to catch up with her as Jasper continued into the school.

"So, a boy raffle?" I said to her, once I was close enough for her to hear me.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry I forgot to tell you." She said, blushing.

"We forgive you." Alice said, "Provided you do something for us."

"What's that?" Bella asked with trepidation.

"We want you to buy a raffle ticket from every boy that asks you. And even if they don't ask you, you have to at least buy one from Emmett, Jazz, and Edward." Alice said, bouncing in her excitement.

"Umm, Jasper, he's my brother, that's weird." Bella said.

"Step-brother and it doesn't have to be a romantic date. You could just make him let you choose the movie next time you guys go to the theatre together." I said.

"Well, okay." Bella sighed.

I was amazed at her easy capitulation. We headed into the school, and were immediately pounced upon by Mike Newton.

"Ladies, ladies," he said, "I know you want a chance to date me, and here it is. Tickets are three dollars, and I make change."

I looked pointedly at Bella, who sighed and reached into her purse for money. I then looked at Alice, who shrugged and then surreptitiously pointed at Emmett and Jasper, who were glaring at Mike from down the hall. We both reached into our purses as well.

I smiled, this could get interesting…

EmmettPOV:

I glared at Mike as he accosted Bella, Alice and Rose at the front entrance to the school. How dare he! I growled inaudibly as not only Bella, but Rosalie and Alice purchased raffle tickets from him.

I turned to Jasper and said, "It's possible I did not think this through very well."

Jasper nodded, looking disgruntled. By unspoken agreement we headed toward our ladies.

I put on my most lovable grin as we stopped in front of the girls.

"Would you ladies like to purchase raffle tickets from my compatriot and me?" I asked them, gesturing toward Jasper and myself.

All three girls reached into their purses, and I glanced at Jasper in surprise. I expected Alice and Rosalie to be into it, but I had assumed some coaxing would be required to get Bella in on it. Jasper shrugged back at me, and then reached out to take Alice's money.  
Bella POV:

This was ridiculous. The first bell had not even rung yet and I already had three raffle tickets in my possession. I ducked into my first classroom, sat low in my seat and prayed none of the basketball team members in my class would ask me to buy a ticket.  
The world was clearly against me as Tyler stepped in front of my desk and cleared his throat.

"Hey Bella, would you, uh, like to, um, buy a raffle ticket?" Tyler asked.

"Sure" I said, smiling weakly and again reaching for my purse.

The rest of my morning went better and I had not purchased anymore tickets by lunch. I had achieved this feat by practically running through the halls to my classes and praying fervently that no one else would ask me.

I stepped into the lunch room and was greeted with the unpleasant sight of Jessica and Lauren accosting Jasper and practically begging to buy tickets from him. He looked at me and mouthed 'help' but I just smiled and headed to the lunch line.

After I paid I headed toward my usual table with Angela. Ben was there, looking very uncomfortable I might add. I could tell he wanted to ask Angela to buy a raffle tickets, but was having trouble asking her.  
I diverted my route and headed over to where Alice and Rosalie were sitting, glaring at Jessica and Lauren as they sidled up to Em and Jazz.

"Ladies, I have done what you asked regarding the raffle tickets, now I am asking you for a favor." I said to them. I tilted my head in the direction of Ben and Angela. "We need to go over and buy tickets from him to that he can ask Angela. He's too shy to do it on his own. Plus, the poor boy will never meet his quota if we don't help him out."

"We can do that." Alice said. Both she and Rosalie got up and headed with me toward Ben and Angela.

"Hey Ben," I greeted him, "We were wondering if we could buy raffle tickets from you."

"Umm, sure," Ben replied, blushing. I raised my eyebrow at him and I swear I saw Alice nudge him.

"Angela," he swallowed hard, "would you like to buy one too?"

Angela smiled, "You bet!" she said.

Rosalie tugged my arm and led me away from the table, Alice trailing behind.

"Hey, I was going to sit there." I protested.  
"Give them some time alone." Rosalie whispered.

"Besides, we all need to buy from Edward. Other than Jessica and Lauren, who asked him, he hasn't sold any tickets yet." Alice said, catching up and grabbing my other arm.

We headed back to the table Alice and Rosalie and been sitting at previously, which was now occupied by Emmett, Jasper, and Edward.

"Hey, Eddie, how are the ticket sales going?" I heard Emmett say and we neared them.

"I was unable to avoid Jessica and Lauren; it seems someone gave them my schedule." Edward replied through gritted teeth, glaring at Emmett and Jasper who were both laughing.

"Edward," Alice said, gesturing to the three of us, "We would like to buy raffle tickets from you."

"All three of you?" Edward said eyeing my skeptically.

"For sure!" I said, mustering as much enthusiasm as possible.

"Well, ok." Edward reached into his pocket for the tickets and we girls got our money ready.

"You know," Edward said, a twinkle in his eye, "I feel a little like our coach has pimped up out."

I laughed, surprised at his joke. It was the most I had ever heard Edward say in my presence, aside from answering the teacher in class, that is.

"Well," I joked back, "At least he doesn't slap you upside the head and ask 'Bitch, where is my money?!'"


	8. 10 4 Good Buddy!

**A/N: So sorry for the really short chapter, but the big Bella/Jacob break up is next and I didn't want to have to split that into two chapters…so the next one should be longer than normal to make up for this.**

**Disclaimer: You may have noticed the artistic license I have taken with someone else's characters. This is intentional, but not for profit, so I am hoping not to be sued. I think Stephanie should take it as a complement...**

**Chapter Eight - 10-4 Good Buddy!  
**

JasperPOV:

By the end of the day, I had sold my minimum requirement and was not planning on selling any more tickets. I turned in my money to coach before practice and breathed a sigh of relief.  
My relief was short-lived, however, because by the time I got home from practice I had emails from almost every girl who had purchased a ticket, detailing exactly what they would want on their date. The only girls who hadn't emailed me were Rosalie, Alice and Bella. What is with the female population of Forks? Didn't they realize that it was the man's job the plan the evening.

I nearly choked to death on my soda reading Jessica's plans for our evening.  
_'You'll have to rent a car to pick me up, I can't possibly be seen in that truck. I expect you'll take me to the most expensive restaurant in the area, which means jacket and tie. After dinner, we should go for a moonlit walk, you will hold my hand of course, and when I am cold, you will offer me your jacket. I normally only kiss once on the first date, but for you I'll make an exception. In addition to kissing me, you can touch anything above the waist...'_ I stopped reading there and deleted the email.

I dialed my phone and waited for Edward to pick up.

"Dude, have you gotten any strange emails tonight?" I asked him.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Edward said, I could almost hear his scowl over the phone.

"What did Jessica's say?" I said, assuming it would be similar to mine.

"I only read the first sentence, when I saw the word 'protection' I deleted it immediately." he answered me.

"Mine wasn't that lurid, I'm insulted." I joked.

"Lauren's was just as bad." Edward groaned.

"I hadn't gotten to Lauren's yet." I said, fear tingeing my voice.

"I recommend deleting it outright." Edward said firmly.

"Jasper…I have a plan!" I heard Bella sing from my doorway.

"Uh, Eddie, I gotta go." I said hastily, hanging up the phone. "What?" I said to Bella, turning to face her.

She was bouncing in a distinctly Alice-like way, holding a cowboy hat, a hobby horse and a CD. I groaned as Bella smiled triumphantly and walked into my room, closing the door behind her.

EdwardPOV:

"Did you sell all your tickets?" Emmett asked me, popping his head into my room.

"Unfortunately." I responded.

"Who all did you sell to?"

"Well, the obvious, and then Angela and some girls from the freshman class whose names I don't even know. Mrs. Cope even asked to buy one, but I told her I had sold them all." I told him.

"Do you know what you're going to do for your dance?" Emmett asked.

"Yes," I hedged, "but I'm not telling you."

"Why not?" Emmett stuck out his lower lip and gave me puppy eyes.

"I'm pretty sure that look only works on girls…and I want it to be a surprise." I answered.  
"Now get out of here, I have some research to do." I added, turning back to my TV, which was paused on the very dance I was trying to learn, glad that it was angled so that he couldn't see the screen. Emmett shut my door and I heard him stomp back to his room.

AlicePOV:

"We have to plan Bella's outfit for Saturday." I said to Rosalie, who was lounging on my bed reading People.

"Is that necessary, really?" She asked me.

"Yes, it has to be the right blend of take-me-serious and damn-don't-I-look-good." I said, exasperated. Rosalie was second only to me when it came to fashion, but she had given up on Bella years ago, where I had not.

"You do realize she still likes him, right? She probably doesn't want to make him feel bad with a 'don't-I-look-good' outfit." Rose replied.

"I still say he needs to realize what his creepy clinginess has cost him." I said petulantly.

"I never realized you had it out for Jake." Rose mused.

"It's not that I don't like him, per se, I just think there is someone better for her." I said.

"Do you have a particular someone in mind?" Rose asked, sitting up and eyeing me speculatively.

"Ummm, yes?" I said, giving her my most winning smile.

"Alright, who is it?" Rose sighed.

"Edward!" I practically shouted, plopping down beside Rose on the bed.

"Really? He seems so shy, I've never even seen him show interest in a girl, and believe me I tried when we were younger." Rosalie said, crossing her arms and eyeing me skeptically.

"Well, I think they would be perfect for each other. And I have it on good authority that he's not gay…so why not Bella? Besides, I swear sometimes at lunch he looks over at Bella and Angela and sighs longingly. And I don't think its Angela he's sighing over." I said, grinning at Rose.

"I can see it, I guess. Let's get her split up with her current b. f. before we go hooking her up with someone new, k?" Rosalie said.

I bounced on the bed and giggled, "10-4 good buddy!"


	9. Unnecessary marinating!

**A/N: Ok, so I had to have a second hard drive installed in my computer, and was without internet for two days! Ahh! but now, at least, I can put my music collection on my computer. Thank you to those who review, it's nice to be appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer had a dream about Twilight. I had a dream I was Stephanie Meyer. Does that mean I own Twilight? No? Damn!**

**Chapter Nine  
**

BellaPOV:

I took a deep breath, and then whooshed it out. I had been dreading this all week and building it up in my mind, when it probably wouldn't be that bad. Yeah, probably very anti-climactic. I'm sure everything will go smoothly. I nodded.

"Are you nodding to yourself, or to answer the question I just asked you?" Alice asked, intruding on my conversation with myself.

"Sorry," I smiled apologetically, "What did you ask?"

"Did you tell Jacob you were coming?" Alice asked, apparently for the second time.

"No, I thought it probably wasn't fair to get him excited for my visit, when I was just going to break up with him. Actually, I have been avoiding his calls ever since I decided to break up with him." I answered.

We were on our way to Seattle, Rosalie driving, me in the passenger seat, and Alice poking her head through the seats from the back.

"Do you know what you're gonna say?" Rosalie questioned, turning her head slightly to look at me.

"Yeah, I think so. And yes, Alice, I wrote some notes, but I didn't bring them." I said sheepishly.

"Yeah, I knew you would," Alice sighed, "At least you look good."

Alice had arrived at my house early in order to dress me, which I had thought unnecessary. But, I was willing to submit to her ministrations, having found it extremely difficult to say no to Alice. They could have a campaign with signs and logos, kids and adults around the world could participate in 'Just Say No…to Alice' and I personally would still not be able to do it.

When we got to Jacob's school, I sat in the car, unable to move.

"C'mon Bella, I have shoes to buy, they are calling out to me. 'Alice! Come to us!' And I can't come to them until you do this." Alice demanded.

I swallowed hard, got out of the car, and headed toward Jacob's dorm. Someone was on their way out when I got there, so I didn't have to buzz Jake. I had visited a few times and I knew where his room was. I took the stairs slowly, dragging my feet. Jake's room was on the second floor in the corner. He had been so excited to get such a cherry room, by himself with his own bathroom.

I knocked on the door.  
"Whoooo is it?" I heard Jake call, followed by what I can only describe as a giggle.

"Ummm, Bella!" I called back.

"Bella! Oh, ummm." I heard, followed by some thumps, another giggle and a door being slammed.

It sounded like someone was in there with him.

Jacob opened the door a crack, leaning on the frame. He was flushed, his shirt was crooked and he looked nervous.

"I'm so glad you're here," he smiled at me, "lets go for a walk."

I'm not an idiot, I was already suspicious of the noises I'd heard, and now he was trying to lure me away from his room. There was definitely someone in there.

"Sure, just let me use the bathroom first." I said, pushing past him and into the room. I put my hand on the knob to the bathroom, but it wouldn't turn, it was locked!  
"Why is the door locked, Jacob." I said calmly, though inside I was seething, and hurt.

"Leah, you can come out." Jacob said, and the door opened to reveal a beautiful Native American girl with long dark hair and big eyes.

"You." I pointed to him, "Are cheating? On me?" I pointed to myself. I glared at him, the spun on my heel and headed out the room and down the hall.

"Bella, wait, let me explain!" Jake called after me and I took the stairs two at a time. I burst out the door and was heading back to the car where Rosalie and Alice were waiting when Jacob caught up with me. He grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. Now he looked angry.

"We have been dating for three years, Bella! How can you walk away without letting me say anything?!" He asked me angrily.

"What could you possibly say?" I shouted back.

"I never kissed her!" He shouted, then stopped and took a deep breath. "We've been friends since the first day of class together, our art class," he emphasized, "I never looked at her as a potential girlfriend until this week. I could tell on the phone the other night that you were distant, and I knew it was only a matter of time before we broke up. I still love you, but I have been able to feel you pulling away. I tried calling you more, and trying to get you to visit, but you put me off or ignored my calls." Jacob sighed.

"That still doesn't explain what was going on today." I said, a little less angrily.

Jacob let go of my arm, now that I had stopped trying to pull it away, and ran his hand through his hair. He sighed again.

"Our art teacher assigned us a live-model drawing. Leah missed class that day, and I offered to be her model." Jake explained. "Did we flirt? Yes. Did it go any farther? No."

"Then why all the scrambling to hide her?" I asked, now curious, "Were you naked?"

"No! Just shirtless, but I knew how it would look," Jake glanced at me sheepishly, "I figured you were here to end it, but on the off chance you weren't I didn't want you to think I was cheating."

I sighed, in hindsight I was grateful it played out this way. It made it so much easier to end things with Jacob knowing he was expecting it, and knowing he would have a nice girl here to take his mind off of it.

"Well you were right. I did come here to break up with you." I said, and Jacob nodded.  
"Its not that I don't love you, I'm just not romantically _in_ love with you." I sighed, "It used to be I couldn't imagine my life without you, now when I look at my future, its hard to see how you will fit in."

Jacob whistled, "I don't even fit in?"

"Not in a boyfriend or husband sort of way, perhaps in a 'friend I see when I come visit Charlie' kind of way." I responded, smiling ruefully.

"Well I can't say I'm glad, but I appreciate your honesty," Jacob said, "Now that we broke up, is it weird if I hug you goodbye?"

I smiled up at him, "I don't think that's weird at all."

AlicePOV:

Rosalie and I sat in the car, waiting for Bella. She had disappeared into Jacobs building about a minute ago, and I was starting to feel a little bad for how excited I was that they were breaking up.

I looked up and saw Bella storm out of the building, Jacob chasing her. He caught up with her, grabbed her by the arm and spun her around.

"Whoa," Rosalie said, he mouth dropping open, "She couldn't possibly have broken up with him that quickly, she was gone for like, 2 minutes."

"Yeah, and why would _she_ be mad?" I added

I looked over at the building and noticed a girl standing just inside the clear door. I got Rosalie's attention and pointed to the mysterious female.

"You don't think Jake would cheat on her, do you?" I asked, horrified on Bella's behalf.

"Well I never would have, but that girl is definitely watching them." Rose responded.

I looked back in Bella and Jacob's direction and saw her smile at him, then stand on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek while he hugged her.

"What is she doing?" I groaned, "She probably just forgave him for cheating, and didn't break up." I scowled.

"I don't think Bella is that much of a push over." Rosalie said, but was cut off by Bella opening the car door.

I looked back at Jacob in time to see him enter his dorm and hug the unknown girl. I may have growled.

"How did it go?" Rosalie asked.

"Fine," Bella said, grinning.

"That's it? I need details!" I screeched.

"Maybe tonight, I want to let it marinate for a while." Bella giggled and stuck her tongue out at me.

Whatever! She just gets some sick pleasure out of making me suffer. This was unnecessary marinating!


	10. Totally Grody to the Max!

**A/N: I am soo sorry that I didn't update all week. We were crazy busy at work, and I was having a crisis about if I wanted to skip ahead to the pageant or move slower. In the end, my own impatience to write the pageant won out. I didn't fully think it through however, because I didn't actually have all of the different characters' dances planned. BTW, I want to ask for your forgiveness ahead of time, for my random Eighties references at the end of this chapter. I just wanted an excuse to use that phrase as a chapter title!**

**Diclaimer: Not my characters…but I am pretty sure SM never would have had them doing what I have them doing!**

**Chapter Ten - Totally Grody to the Max  
**

JasperPOV:

The last two weeks had passed too quickly for my comfort. I had been confident in my dance, ready for this boy pageant, until about five minutes ago. I looked over at Edward, who looked even more nervous than I was, if that's possible. He swallowed hard, and glanced at me, pleading in his eyes.

"We could drop out, say we're sick," he suggested.

"I'm pretty sure neither Coach nor Emmett would let us get away with that." I replied, wiping my brow.

Emmett rushed around the corner and pulled up short next to us. "I'm having second thoughts," he started.

"Great," Edward said, smiling for the first time that day, "We can cancel it."

"No I wanna do it," Emmett said, "I just think I may have chosen the wrong song."

"What song?" I asked him. None of us had told each other what songs we were using.

"I'm not telling," Emmett said, smiling gleefully.

"Team!" Coach Spenner shouted.

We all gathered around where he was standing.

"I know some of you are nervous, but try and remember this is just for fun, and a good cause." Spenner said, "I wanted to let you boys know that the extra monies raised will be donated to Relay for Life."  
Edward and Ben both smiled briefly at that.

"So, put on your game face, and let's get started!" Spenner said, turning and heading onto the stage.

AlicePOV:

The boys' basketball coach stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. I forced myself to sit somewhat still as he began to speak. Bella had caved exactly 10 minutes and 45 seconds ago, and informed Rosalie and me that the talent portion of this pageant was to be a dance. I couldn't wait to see what some of these boys came up with. I just had to sit through the first two portions, which was going to be hard. I was sitting between Rose and Bella and they were just as excited as I was. Bella had informed us that she helped Jasper with his dance, which was why she was excited, and we all knew Rosalie was excited to see Emmett do anything she could later mock him for.

I was expecting the pageant to be boring, but I couldn't help but laugh. First each guy came out in casual clothes while Spenner read "bios," but instead of listing their accomplishments, they listed things like video game scores, number of pizza eaten in one sitting, favorite female celebrity, and their current bromance.

Bella was holding her sides, as if sore from laughing and they hadn't even come out in their formal wear yet!

RosaliePOV:  
I wiped my eyes and re-focused on the stage. Coach Spenner was explaining that there were different questions on pieces of paper and each guy had to draw a question and answer it.

Emmett was first; he came strutting out on stage in a shiny black jacket, with a hot pink tie, white shirt, black pants, and hot pink shoes. He drew his question.

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" Spenner asked his face completely serious, as if the fate of the world rested on Em's answer.

"I would guess for the same reason I usually cross the street," Emmett said, grinning out at the crowd, "Cause there is a hot girl on the other side."

Everybody laughed. Next were Mike Newton, then Tyler and Ben. Each of them had a silly question, and a slightly silly formal outfit. It was weird, although not your typical formal wear, each guy actually looked pretty good.

Then it was Jasper's turn. He was wearing a brown plaid jacket with a pale yellow shirt, brown tie and brown pants. I looked over a Bella who was grinning and looking at Alice expectantly.

"I picked that" she whispered.

"Its…nice," Alice said, and I knew just how she felt. On the one hand it was ridiculous and nerdy, on the other, he still somehow looked good.

Spenner was reading Jasper his question, and we quickly refocused.

"If you were a flower, what flower would you be?" Spenner asked Jasper.

"Probably something small and delicate, like myself. Perhaps a violet." Jasper said seriously while stroking his non-existent beard. Then he looked out at Alice and winked.

She smiled, while Bella and I both elbowed her and whispered at the same time, "Your favorite!"

A couple more guys went and finally it was Edward's turn. He came out in an eighties style powder blue tux, ruffled shirt included. He even had white patent leather shoes. He looked adorable, like he just stepped out of a 'Brat Pack' movie.

"Edward, if walls could talk what would your bedroom walls say?" Spenner asked him.

"What kind of question is that?" I whispered to Alice and Bella.

They hushed me, and I believe Alice actually sat forward in her seat, as if that would help her hear his answer.

"Well, they would probably tell me not to sing out loud anymore, and they might ask me to invite a girl over once in a while." Edward answered.

"Well, I never." I said.

"He sings to himself?" Bella mused.

"He should get a girl over once in a while." Alice huffed.

"Okay, Judges, please score the young men on their question and answer portion. We will take a five minute break and when we come back, we will have the talent portion." Spenner announced.

As we headed out of the auditorium towards the bathroom we got stuck behind Jessica and Lauren.

"What was with that formal wear?" we heard Jessica say.

"I dunno, most of it looked like it was from the seventies and eighties," Lauren replied, "Totally grody to the max"


	11. It's time to win a man!

**A/N: This chapter, in case you haven't guessed, is the different dances, and therefore has a soundtrack to help get you in the mood. The songs are in parentheses at the beginning of each guy's dance. Also, I decided not to do one for Ben, I just can't in my mind actually picture what a guy like him would do…so make one up on your own!**

**Chapter Eleven - Time to Win a Man  
**

AlicePOV:

"And now, the talent portion!" Coach Spenner announced.

All three of us girls squealed…I swear it wasn't just me. The guys were going in the same order as before, so Emmett was first.

(Let's Get Ready To Rumble, from ESPN Jock Jams)

The stage went dark, no spotlights or anything. Suddenly, the familiar beginning of that song they play at every basketball game ever. An announcer's voice saying, "Let's gets ready to rumble!" A spotlight appeared on the center of the stage at the same time, and as the word 'rumble' was echoing away, Emmett stepped through in his basketball warm ups, basketball in his hands. He began bobbing his head and strutting down the 'runway' that extended out from the center of the stage, with the judges seated at the end of it.  
He came to a stop at the end and started rotating his hips as he unzipped his jacket. He got it unzipped and pulled it off, swinging it around in circles above his still-bobbing head. Emmett's grin was a mile wide, you could tell he was loving this. He ran back down the runway and headed over to the left of the stage. He paused there for some flexing and posing, then headed to the right of the stage, this time for some hip thrusting.  
He danced his way back to the center then paused and looked out to the audience. He pulled his basketball jersey over his head and threw it down. Girls started screaming. Rosalie started glaring. Then he pulled a Hulk Hogan and put a hand up to his ear, as if calling for more noise. He grabbed his warm-up pants with both hands and pulled them off. Underneath, instead of normal basketball shorts that go down to his knees, he had some 70's style basketball shorts, tighter and shorter than they had a right to be. The crowd went wild and even I gasped. I had no idea Emmett's legs were so…muscular. He went down on one knee, flexing. Then he popped up and headed back down the runway toward the judges. He did some more pelvic thrusting, then turned so his butt was facing the judges and did what can only be classified as booty shaking. Emmett turned as the song ended, bowed to the judges, and danced his way off stage.  
Rosalie leaned over Bella and whispered, "He will be doing a repeat of that performance for my eyes only."  
Bella's eyes were wide, "I will never think of him the same way," she said.

Next up was Mike Newton, and what he lacked in the hotness factor, he made up for in the funny category, so I couldn't imagine what he would come up with.

(I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred)

Mike came out in what I imagine he thinks a model would wear. Actually, as I look at it, he's not far off. Half open dress shirt, jacket with patches sewn onto it, thin tie around his neck, a cool Jason Mraz type hat, if the pants weren't as loose, it would fit right in on a runway. I imagine the looseness has something to do with him having to strip out of them. So cheesy runway music was playing and Mike was "walking with attitude" as Tyra would say, he took off the jacket first, then put his hands on his shirt, but didn't rip it off. He turned as strutted over to the right of the stage, posing. The runway music cut off and "I'm Too Sexy" came on. Mike ripped off his shirt right as the guy sang "I'm too sexy for my shirt" and strutted all the way to the other side of the stage. There he took off his pants and did some flexing. He headed back to the center of the stage and was "shaking his little tush on the runway." He threw his hat to the crowd and basically hammed it up for the whole song. Bella, Rosalie and I looked at each other, shrugged, and joined in the screaming. This was fun!

Up next was Tyler, who stepped out on stage in a…ringmasters outfit?

(Circus by Britney Spears)

He had a sparkly red suit jacket, a top hat and striped pants. He even had a diamond painted over one eye. It was oddly attractive…

Tyler was the first of any guys to display any real talent for dancing. He popped, he locked, I think there was even a robot move in there somewhere. He did eventually get down to stripping, taking off his jacket and hat and throwing them at the judges. He dropped down and did some one handed push-ups. 'Push-up' is a mild word for it actually, because it looked more like he was making love to an invisible person right there on the runway.

The pants came off next and there was some thrusting from Tyler, and definite blushing from Bella and I. We were both red when Tyler was finished, and even Rosalie looked a little flustered.

Ben went next and then it was Jasper's turn. Bella was grinning from ear to ear.

"Why are you so happy about this?" I asked her, "He's like your brother."

"Oh, did I forget to mention, I came up with his dance?" she said, smiling innocently.

Rosalie shushed us as Jasper stepped out on stage, with a black fringed western shirt, a cowboy hat and jeans. He had a hobby horse in his hand. I groaned as his music started.

(Save A Horse by Big and Rich)

Jasper was not a great dancer, but he made up for it in enthusiasm. He rode that hobby horse all the way down the runway, swinging his fist in the air. Bella had not required much dancing of him, as the rest of his routine was mostly posing and flexing. She did fit some butt shaking in there, I noticed with glee. Jasper stripped off his pants and shirt but kept the cowboy hat on. Every time they sang "Ride a cowboy" he would point to himself. As the song came to a close, Jasper tipped his hat to the judges and all the screaming girls, then tossed it to…me! I jumped up and caught it. Holding it close and grinning.

"Wow Bella, I didn't know you had it in you," Rosalie said.

"Well, he added that butt shaking." She admitted.

"I hate country, but I loved that!" I squealed.

A couple other guys went and they were funny, but now I was impatient for it to be Edward's turn. I was hoping he would do something really hot and make Bella notice him. They weren't high hopes, mind you, because he is so shy, but A girl can dream, right?

Coach Spenner stepped out and put a school desk on the left corner of the stage, and then stepped back off the stage again. Edward sat down in the desk, a soda bottle in his hand and a cigarette in his mouth…unlit of course. The music started and he slammed his non-beverage holding hand down on the desk several times. I didn't recognize the song, but Bella gasped, and put her hand to her heart.

(Never by Moving Pictures)

"Do you know this song?" I asked her as Edward stood up from the desk, threw the pop bottle across the stage and started rotating his hips. He looked angry, and was dressed in jeans and a plain grey sweatshirt.

"It's from Footloose!" she said, "That's like, my favorite 80's movie."

"I don't remember it." I said, confused. Edward was now doing some dance moves across that stage, suddenly he did an Arial. (no-handed cartwheel for those who don't know) I gasped as Bella answered me.

"It's the scene where Kevin Bacon dances in the warehouse, and Edward is recreating it." she said. And I swear she sighed.

Just then Edward ripped off the sweat shirt to reveal a white wife-beater underneath. It really was like watching the scene from the movie. Edward never even stripped all the way down, and yet by the end of the performance, every girl in the room was on her feet screaming. Mrs. Cope was standing up from her seat, waving a dollar bill. Man that secretary is freaky.

I looked over at Bella, she was smiling dreamily at Edward as he bowed and walked off stage. I grinned over her head and Rosalie. This was awesome! Edward didn't even have to strip and Bella still liked his dance best. Clearly they were made for each other.

Spenner stepped back out onto the stage.

"How about one more round of applause for all of our brave boys!" he shouted, and the crowd went wild.

"We will let the judges deliberate and pick a winner, and while they do that, we will draw the winners of our win a-date raffle." He continued.

"Get out your tickets ladies," Rosalie said to Bella and me, "It's time to win a man!"

**A/N: If you want to be able to fully picture Edward's dance, you can find the clip from Footloose on youtube. It's titled Footloose Warehouse Dance Scene. I felt that Edward would find a way to not have to completely strip, and yet still participate. If you were expecting him to get down and dirty, I am sorry. I felt that although my story is in an AU, I didn't want my guys to be too OOC. Feel free to make up your own, dirtier, dance for Edward, and if you wanted to share it with me by review or PM, go right ahead!**


	12. I got him!

**A/N: So I had to really think about how this next chapter would play out, which is why it took so long. Sorry guys! I knew that I couldn't have cannon pairs, but I wasn't sure how much torture to put these characters through. In addition to my contemplation, I also went out of town, so that also contributed to my lack of updating. I will warn you now that the dates will probably take some thought as well, so don't expect an update tomorrow. And with that, I say, "Thank you SM for thinking of these characters, so that I could take them and do whatever I want with them!"**

**Chapter Twelve - I Got Him!  
**

BellaPOV:

Alice, Rosalie and I pulled out our raffle tickets. I sighed and said a small prayer that I would not win anyone.

"I'm going to pull the winner from a bowl held by the boy they will win," Coach Spenner was explaining, "We will go in the same order as the pageant, and please remember that although there may be duplicate numbers, you have to have the right color ticket as well and the right number."

"So, without further ado, here comes Emmett!" Spenner said as Emmett walked out on stage holding a clear fishbowl full of blue tickets.  
Rosalie, Alice and I all located our blue tickets. Rosalie crossed her fingers.

"And the winner is…395768"

I looked at my ticket and breathed a sigh of relief, not me. Unfortunately, it wasn't Rosalie's number either.

"I can't believe this!" Rosalie growled as we watched Lauren jumping up and down waving her ticket around above her head.  
Emmett looked like someone just killed his dog. I giggled.  
"So not amusing." Rosalie said slowly, glaring at me.  
"A little." Alice said.  
"I hope Jessica gets Jasper!" Rosalie said back.  
Alice and I both gasped and said "No!" together.  
Meanwhile, Mike Newton had come out on stage with his bowl or orange tickets.

"Winning a date with the always amusing Mike is number 396427!" Spenner called out.

I looked down at my orange ticket. 3…9…6… I read, a feeling dread growing in the pit of my stomach...4…2…6 phew! I turned to smile at Alice, but I paused when I saw her frowning down at the ticket in her hand.

"I won." She whispered.

Rosalie stood up and waved; "We have the winner right here, sir!" she called, pointing at Alice, who looked like she just got sentenced to life in prison. I knew better than to laugh, but it was hard to contain myself. One giggle came out, but that was all it took to draw the wrath of Alice.  
"I hope you win every other guy!" she hissed at me.  
I looked at the tickets I still held and sighed again. It was entirely possible that I could win more than one date, and no one had yet mentioned what would happen if the same girl won more than one guy.

Tyler walked onto the stage, carrying a bowl of purple tickets.

"Do you think he feels weird with purple tickets?" Rosalie whispered to me.  
"I think it would take a lot more than that to make Tyler feel weird." I responded.

Spenner pulled a ticket out of the bowl Tyler was holding. "Would the lucky lady holding ticket number 397631 please stand up," he called.

I looked at my purple ticket, reading the numbers off in my head. Alice leaned over me to read my ticket as well.  
"You won!" she crowed triumphantly.

"Did I hear a winner?" Spenner called out.

"Yeah, me." I said, standing up slowly. I swear Tyler did a little fist pump when he realized it was me. 'Really?' I thought to myself, 'Tyler likes me?'

"I think he likes you," Rosalie whispered, nudging me playfully.

"Doesn't he think I have a boyfriend?" I mused, more to myself than to Alice and Rosalie, but I got an answer anyway.

"Did I forget to tell you that I told a few key people that you and Jacob were over?" Alice said with fake innocence.

"How come I didn't hear about it?" I said, glancing at Alice. She answered me, but I didn't hear what she said, because I was looking past her at Angela. Angela was holding a single ticket and praying?

I looked up on stage where Spenner was about to draw the winner of the date with Ben.

"Quick, give me your white tickets," I whispered urgently.

Rosalie and Alice handed them over without a question and I hurried over to the empty seat next to Angela.

"396587," Spenner called and I looked at the three white tickets in my hand. There it was. I'm not even sure whose it was originally but I pushed it into Angela's hand, and then raised it up above our heads.

Angela squealed (scouts' honor) and Ben sagged with relief.

I grinned, matchmaking was fun, no wonder Alice liked it so much.

I returned to my seat as Jasper walked out on stage carrying his bowl of yellow tickets. He had obviously heard that Alice had won Mike because he looked dejected. Spenner reached in and pulled out a ticket. Alice was looking intently at hers, as if she could will it to be the correct number.

"397512?" Spenner called. Alice slumped down in her seat.

"Not me," she huffed, and then turned to look at us hopefully. Rosalie and I both shook our heads. Neither of us had the winning ticket either. Jessica and Lauren were silent as well.  
"Thank God neither of those hoo-has won him." Alice said.

"I believe I have the winning ticket," a voice called from behind us.

All three of us girls turned around to see who had won Jasper.  
"Victoria!" Rosalie gasped.  
"I can not believe Jasper sold a ticket to her!" Alice practically yelled.  
"He didn't." I said calmly.  
Alice whipped around to face me. "How does she have it, then?" Alice demanded.

I pointed to a short blond girl standing next to Victoria.  
"I believe that girl is our culprit. She is a freshman, and she must be related to Victoria somehow." I mused, "Why else would any girl give up a chance to date Jasper?"

"That ho-bag graduated last year, what is she doping trying to date some guy still in high school?" Rosalie asked.

"She's probably still mad about how Jasper ignored her for Alice," I answered.

Next up was James, a guy we didn't really hang out with. I didn't have one of his tickets, but Rosalie did. I ignored Spenner and turned to Alice.

"What are you going to do about Victoria?" I asked her.

"What can I do, jasper will have to go on that date with her." Alice said woefully.

"Well, you can at least make sure Jasper knows how upset you are," I said.

"Oh no, you silly girl, that's not how Jasper and I do things," Alice said, shaking her head at me.

"Well, I think honesty is the best policy." I maintained.

"For you, it would be, you are a terrible liar, but most girls don't function that way." Alice said.

"I can't believe this!" we heard Rosalie screech.

We turned to see her staring at her brown ticket with a mixture of awe and disgust. "I won James," She said to us.

Alice and I looked at each other decided it would healthier to stay silent.

Finally it was Edward's turn. I pulled out my green ticket and looked at the stage with...excitement?? My heart was beating a little faster. 'Where is this coming from?' I thought to myself. "Probably the backlash from his totally hot Kevin bacon dance. Yeah, that's it. It's just my love of the movie Footloose rubbing off.' And with that satisfying thought I refocused on Spenner just as he called out the winning number.

"3..7…5..8..4..1" Spenner called.

I looked down at my ticket, disappointed that it wasn't mine. 'No, wait, not disappointed, relieved.' I told myself, and nodded firmly. And I would have continued believing that thought, had Jessica Stanley not stood up, practically crying from joy, and yelled, "I got him!"


	13. I'm gonna school you!

A/N: I have been woefully remiss in writing new chapters to this story. I really do apologize to my readers, especially the ones who have been with me since the beginning and have had to wait more than a month for this new chapter. Also, I know I haven't answered any of the reviews for the last chapter. It's not that I didn't appreciate them, but they increased greatly in number and I simply didn't have the time. On a happier note, I got Twilight on DVD at midnight last Saturday and I have watched it multiple times. So amazing!

Disclaimer: I am not Stephanie Meyer, I did not create these characters and I have received no money from this endeavor, unfortunately.

Edward POV: It was like I was hearing everything from a great distance. Jessica was jumping up and down and screaming with her friends and I felt like I might throw up. Involuntarily I found Bella in the crowd. She looked…disappointed? Well, at least that was something. I slowly shuffled off stage toward Emmett and Jasper to await the end of this dreadful evening. I scowled at Emmett.

"I can't believe I let you convince me this was a good idea!" I growled at him.

"Believe me; I am kicking myself right now." Emmett mumbled back.

We all glared over at Mike, Tyler and James who were clearly all pleased with their dates, and discussing this fact amongst themselves animatedly. Tyler even threw me a thumbs up sign. I turned to Jasper, "Can you think of an excuse for us to beat those three up?"

"Not if we want to stay on the basketball team this year." Jasper replied, looking dejected.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Tyler won the pageant; I suffered through a conversation with Jessica, got her phone number and extricated myself from her clutches.

Emmett and I invited Jasper over for a night of pity and video games. He went to tell Bella what he was doing and to see if she could get a ride home from Rosalie or Alice.

We were headed out to the parking lot when Jasper caught up with us.

"Bella is going to sleep over at Alice's house, so I'm fine to come now." he said, heading to his car to get some things.

We rode to our house in silence. I know I was thinking of moving to Canada to avoid my date with Jessica, but I can't speak for what was going through the other guys' heads.

We walked through the front door to find Carlisle and Esme waiting for us.

"I hear it didn't exactly go your way," Carlisle commented blandly.

"That is the understatement of the year." Jasper replied ruefully, "How did you know already?"

"Renee talked to Bella, then called me," Esme answered him.

"Did she happen to mention how Bella feels about her date?" Jasper asked. I looked at him, a little surprised that he asked, but grateful all the same.

"According to your mother, Bella is not entirely displeased, but you know how shy she is, she's worried about it." Esme said, catching my eye and giving me an understanding look.

Emmett chose that moment to join the conversation.

"She's worried! I have to spend time with Lauren, okay? That's like, torture." he groaned.

"Well I'm stuck with that girl Victoria that graduated last year, how do you think I feel. Scratch that, how do you think Alice is gonna make me pay?" Jasper added.

"I think you both should be grateful you're not in my position," I said, glaring at them both, "I clearly have the worst of the lot…"

"Jessica!" we all said in unison.

"Is she really that bad?" Carlisle asked.

"You have no idea," I said, shaking my head at his naiveté.

"I'm sorry son, but you'll just have to make the best of it," he sighed. "That goes for you two as well," he added, pointing at Jasper and Emmett in turn.

"We are off to bed now, you boys don't stay up too late, you have practice tomorrow morning," Esme added, heading upstairs.

Emmett, Jasper and I headed into the den to play NCAA Basketball on the PS3.

I was watching Jasper and Emmett pick their teams when inspiration struck.

"We could triple date!" I exclaimed suddenly.

"Can we do that?" Jasper asked doubtfully.

"Coach never laid down any rule against it. He said we have to take out the girl who wins us; he never said anything about not double dating." Emmett said, warming to my idea.

"Alice would certainly prefer it," Jasper said slowly.

"It would definitely keep Rosalie from kicking my ass," Emmett added.

"Less time spent alone in the company of Jessica, the less likely I am to murder her." I said, even more sure that this was the best option.

"We don't even have to tell them that it's a triple date." Jasper mused, "We could pick them up separately, and then meet each other at a restaurant."

"Of course we have to do it that way," Emmett said scornfully, "they would never agree to it willingly."

"You're right of course." I said thoughtfully, "Ten minutes in the car alone is undesirable, but doable."

"If that's settled, I believe I am due to kick both your butts in NCAA B-ball!" Emmett teased us.

"Not a chance!" Jasper said, refocusing on the TV.

"I got winner!" I added.

"Don't worry," Jasper said, "After I beat Emmett, I'm gonna school you."


	14. I Didn't Know You Cared!

**A/N: I think it was less than a month this time! I had some thought blockage, but when I started typing today, this practically flowed out of me. Next chapter will be the dates!**

**Disclaimer: SM owns the rights to these characters...don't sue please!**

I Didn't Know You Cared!

Bella POV:

I was deeply regretting my decision to sleep over at Alice's house. Rosalie was there too, and they were conveniently avoiding discussing the dates they had won by teasing me about Tyler.

"He's pretty cute Bella, you should give him a chance," Rosalie said to me.

"Yeah he's not bad, for a rebound date," Alice added, glaring at Rosalie.

I could tell they had some sort of silent conversation going, but I was too tired to try and figure out what they were communicating with their eyebrow movements.

"I'm tired, can we talk about Tyler tomorrow and watch a movie now?" I asked them wearily.

Rosalie looked at me sympathetically; I guess I must have looked haggard, because she dropped the Tyler issue and sided with me. "Yeah, let's watch a movie," she said to Alice.

"Which one?" Alice asked me.

"I don't suppose you want to watch Bridget Jones' Diary?" I asked hopefully.

"What is it with you and that movie?" Rosalie asked me, grimacing.

"Its just that Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy, and I love Pride and Prejudice, and I didn't think you would watch that, given its length." I responded.

"I have a better idea," Alice said, a gleam in her eye. Rose and I looked at each other disturbed by the craftiness revealed in that expression.

"Let's watch Footloose!" she exclaimed.

"Really?" Rose said skeptically, at the same time as I yelled, "Yes!"

I may have pumped my fist in the air as well, but I'll deny that later.

AlicePOV:

I waited impatiently for Bella to fall asleep after the movie, and thankfully she was tired.

"Follow me," I said imperiously to Rose.

We headed quietly up to my bedroom. Once we were through the door and I had shut it, I rounded on Rosalie.

"What was that 'he's cute' business earlier?!" I exclaimed.

"Come on Alice, what was I supposed to say. Tyler is cute. Bella is single. I know you want her and Edward to live happily ever after, but Bella needs a rebound before she settles into another long-term relationship. Who better than a hot basketball hunk?" Rosalie said reasonably.

I thought about it for a moment, and realized that what she was saying had merit.  
"It would make Edward jealous," I mused, "Maybe force him to make a move."

"Like her relationship with Jacob did?" Rosalie scoffed.

"Think about it this way. Edward couldn't compete with Jacob. Bella had known him her entire life, where as Edward just met her freshman year. It will bug him that she is going out with Tyler, he won't think Tyler is good enough for her; he'll have to say something. If not to Bella, at least to Jasper, and once Jasper is clued in and realizes the potential perfectness of a Bella Edward union, he can help us." I said all in one breath.

It was Rosalie's turn to look thoughtful.

"And you know Jasper will say something to Emmett, so he can help too." she said, "You know Emmett won't let that go, he'll dare Edward to do something about it, and Edward can't stand the thought of being to cowardly to follow through on an Emmett dare."

"We are so good at plotting, the government should hire us," I said, grinning. Just then my phone rang.

"Hello?" I said, wondering why Jasper would call me so late.

"Alice," he whispered, "I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, but why are you whispering?" I asked.

"If Edward hears me he won't like my plan," Jasper replied, "We decided to 'accidentally" meet on our dates, so we aren't doomed to spend time alone with Lauren, Jessica and Victoria, but I thought it would be even better if you could arrange to accidently meet up with us on your date with Mike."

"I could do that, what day are you aiming for?" I replied, smiling to myself.

"We were thinking next Friday night," Jasper said, and then I heard a scuffle, "and Emmett requests that you let Rosalie in on it."

"Will do," I said cheerfully, and then hung up.

"Rose, we need to make sure our dates take us out next Friday." I said.

"Are we gonna save those boys from those soulless, life-sucking aliens also known as Lauren and Victoria?" She said knowingly.

"You catch on quick, girlfriend." I said approvingly.

"I do try" Rosalie joked back, fluttering her lashes.

"We should go back downstairs and sleep, Bella can't know we were up here plotting her future." I said, heading out of my room.

RosaliePOV:

"Wake up, wake up!" Alice sang into my ear.

"Ugh," I groaned and attempted to bury my head into my pillow to drown her out.

"Come on Rose, were supposed to go to Port Angeles today," Bella beseeched me, pulling on my blanket.

"That's right, shopping!" I said, suddenly awake at the prospect.

"Umm, that's just you two, I'm going to the bookstore," Bella protested.

"We will allow you to spend the majority of the day in the bookstore, if you allow us to pick out your outfit for your date with Tyler," Alice bargained with her.

"Okay!" Bella agreed, smiling like she had gotten away with something. In reality she had, Alice and I would have picked out the outfit regardless, and now Bella got out of shopping for no reason.  
I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She smiled sheepishly, and I decided to let it go this time. After all, Alice and I were practically planning her dating life for her, without giving her the benefit of prior knowledge.

"Give me 15 minutes, and I'll be ready," I said to Alice, and headed to the bathroom.

"So what tortures do you think Jessica has planned for Edward?" I heard Alice ask Bella as I walked away. I grinned ruefully to myself, Alice never was known for her patience. She was already trying to get a reaction out of Bella.

BellaPOV:

I was sitting in a comfy armchair in the corner of the bookstore, reading some trashy romance novel, having decided to abandon my typical type of book in favor of fluffy, uncomplicated love, when I saw him. Edward was across the store from me, in the music section. I probably wouldn't have noticed him, but the sun caught his hair just as I looked up and made it shine like a new penny.

I knew that the team practice would have been over, but I had expected Jasper, Emmett and Edward to spend the whole day together, like they normally did on Sunday.

I put my finger in between the pages I was reading, and frowned to myself as I studied him. I knew that Jasper, Edward and Emmett were best friends, but unlike Emmett, Edward had never said much to me. I had thought he didn't like me, but Jasper assured me that wasn't true, he was just shy. I bit my lip and considered going over to talk to him. "Just do it," I whispered to myself as I got up, abandoning my book. I was determined to get to know Edward, if I had to blush three shades of red, because he was my brother's best friend, and dang it, he should be my friend too.

Edward looked up at me, surprised, when I tapped his shoulder sand said a soft hello.

"Hey Bella," he acknowledged me softly.

"Well you know my name, point in your favor," I said to him, smiling to let him know I was kidding. "What are you looking for?" I asked.

"Kate Voegele," he answered me, blushing slightly, "She's a singer/songwriter and I really like her melodies."

"It's not just because she's hot?" I teased him.

"You know her?" he asked me, surprised.

"Yeah, well you know, I'm a One Tree Hill fan, and she's on the show," I answered, blushing and praying silently he wouldn't ask why I liked the show.

"That's actually how I found her to," Edward said, then he added quickly, "Emmett watches it, for the basketball."

"Hmmm," I glanced at him skeptically, "It's not just for Peyton and Brooke?"

"Maybe," he hedged.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't kick Lucas out of my bed, so I guess I can't be mad that guys watch the show for the chicks." I said, then covered my mouth with my hand and blushed deeply. I hadn't meant to reveal that particular detail.

Edward eyed me speculatively, "Ok, I admit, I watch for the chicks, but also the basketball."

"I knew it!" I crowed.

My phone started vibrating, it was Alice.

"Hello?" I said, glancing at Edward to see that he was also on his phone.

"We ran into Emmett and Jasper, we are gonna have lunch at that Mexican place, are you going to join us?" Alice asked me.

I covered the mouthpiece of my phone.

"Jasper?" I guessed.

"Yeah, how do you feel about Mexican?" Edward replied.

I uncovered my phone, "I'm in," I said to Alice and Edward at the same time.

"If you don't mind waiting for me to check out, we can walk together," Edward said when I had hung up.

"I don't mind at all." I said, smiling at him.

Edward bought his CD, and then we headed outside and down the block.

"Alice and Rosalie might fall off their chairs if we come in together," I joked, "especially since before today, we've never had a complete conversation, and Jasper had to spend at least a week convincing me that you didn't hate me."

Edward stopped in his tracks, "Why would you think that?" he asked me.

"Umm, maybe because you never talk to me, but you talk to all of my friends," I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along.

"I'm just shy," he mumbled. "And its not like you sit with us at lunch, you're always with Angela," he added defensively.

"Why Edward," I laughed, batting my eyelashes, "I didn't know you cared!"


	15. You Will Regret That, You Bitch!

**A/N: So I couldn't jump straight to the date, there had to be some lead up...because of this, I only have Bella's POV of the date night. The next chapter will be everyone else. Also, several people had mentioned that E and B shouldn't fall in love too fast, while other want me to get it over with already. Hopefully what I have planned will be a happy medium. I warn you now, I plan on having Bella explore her options a bit before she realizes how much she likes Edward.**

**Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? Does anyone out there think I came up with these characters by myself?**

JasperPOV:

If I know Alice, (and believe me, I do) she will be in Port Angeles shopping with Rose and Bella. I was feeling the need to make sure she knew she was my girl before she went on this silly date with Mike. And since I didn't want to ask her out at school, where the walls have ears, I decided today would have to be the day.

"Boys," I said to Edward and Emmett when they exited the locker room, "How do you feel about a trip to Port Angeles?"

"Why?" Emmett asked.

"I'm going to ask Alice out, and that is where she is." I responded.

"About damn time!" Emmett said, slapping me on the back.

"Finally," Edward said at the same time.

"So we're going?" I grinned.

"I'm driving," Edward said quickly.

"I'll call Rosalie and find out where they are," Emmett said gleefully.

"Make sure she doesn't tell Alice we're coming, I want to surprise her." I added.

When we got to Port Angeles, Emmett and I got out of the car and headed into Macy's, but Edward didn't follow us.  
"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"I don't have a girlfriend in that store, so I don't feel any need to enter it," Edward grimaced, "I'm going to the bookstore."

"We'll call you when we want to eat," I called to his back as he walked away from us.

That taken care of, I focused my attention on finding the best way to sneak up on Alice.

"Rosalie said they are in lingerie," Emmett whispered.

"Okay, text Rose and have her make sure Alice goes to try something on in the dressing room," I ordered.

Emmett typed away and got a quick response.

"She's in the dressing room right now!" Emmett said excitedly.

We hurried to the back of the store where the girls were, slowing down minimally when a cashier frowned at us.

I walked up to Rosalie and whispered, "Play along."

"Hey, can you help me?" I said loudly, "I need to find a gift for my girlfriend."

"Sure," Rose responded loudly, "What is her favorite color?"

"Purple," I said grinning, "and can it be something a little risqué?"

"I know just the thing!" Rose exclaimed holding out some lacy thing that I tried not to look at too hard. We were in public after all.

Just then, the door to the dressing room slammed open.

"Girlfriend?!" Alice screeched, "what about me? It better not be that slut Victoria!"

"I don't think purple would match her hair very well," I mused, drawing it out a bit.

"Like I care!" Alice huffed, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I do think, however that purple would look great on you." I said. Alice's expression changed and slow smile spread across her face.

"How about it Alice, am I buying this for my girlfriend?" I asked her hopefully.

"I would love for you to buy me that!" Alice squealed and jumped into my arms. She grabbed my face and kissed me hard.

"Ahem!" Emmett and Rosalie cleared their throats.

"I don't mind a little PDA," Rosalie added, "But we are in the lingerie section of Macy's, it's a little awkward."

I slowly let go of Alice, setting her down gently. At this moment I wanted nothing more than to be alone with her, but since Edward had driven, that wasn't possible.

"Are you ladies almost done?" I asked hopefully.

"We still have to get an outfit for Bella, but we need her for that and she's at the bookstore," Alice answered.

"Can we eat?" Emmett interrupted plaintively.

We all laughed and nodded.  
AlicePOV:

The week following the boy pageant was blissful. I loved being able to claim Jasper as mine. After hearing him complain about Mike pouting all through basketball practice, I had the feeling he liked it too.

I was also extremely satisfied with the progress Bella and Edward were making. And I didn't even have to do anything! Although it was just friendship, I was hoping they could be nudged into something more. This is what my goal is tonight! I shook myself, turned to Rosalie and said, "Are you ready?"

We were going to get Bella ready for her date with Tyler. I had made sure that the rest of us would not be at the restaurant until 8, and Tyler was going to take Bella at 7. That way, they would be already eating when we got there, and it would be silly for us to join them. Not that I had informed Bella of my machinations, I'm thinking she was hoping to be included in the 'rescue Jasper and Emmett' plot. No such luck. I was carrying my makeup and hair care supplies, and Rosalie had Bella's outfit over her arm as we walked up the steps to Bella's house. Bella opened the door right as I raised my hand to knock. She practically dragged us through the doorway.

"I'm so nervous," she moaned.

I smiled and shared a glance with Rosalie. Whatever my plans for Bella and Edward, I still wanted her to have a good time with Tyler tonight.

"Don't worry about it," I soothed her, "He clearly likes you, you are single, there is no reason you can't hold your own on a date with him."

"I have it on good authority that Tyler is actually much smarter than he acts," Rosalie added.

"Besides, you're gonna look so hot, Tyler will be speechless. You can just sit there and look pretty!" I sang, prodding her up the stairs.

Rosalie and I had forced Bella to try on multiple outfits, and we hadn't allowed her to see which one we finally settled on.

We had chosen a black top accented with mint green. It was cut straight across her chest, which we had amplified with a special bra. Two little cap sleeves were barely attached. We added black leggings and ballet flats, and a mint green ribbon in her hair. I did her make up in very natural colors while Rosalie curled her hair. When we were finally done, we let her look in the mirror.

"I love it!" she exclaimed, almost surprised.

"Did you doubt we would make you look good?" I said, pretending to be upset.

"It's not that, it's just, this look suits me, and I was worried you would put me in a mini skirt with dark eyeliner and red lips.

"You would look hot that way…" I mused trailing off.

"But you will feel more comfortable this way," Rosalie finished my thought.

Just then the door bell rang.

"That must be Tyler!" I squealed, bounding down the stairs to answer the door.

BellaPOV:

"Okay Bella, just breathe," I thought to myself. I made my way down the stairs carefully, not want to trip in front of Tyler. When I looked up at him, he had the strangest look on his face. I had not idea what it meant, but I smiled shyly up at him. He looked pretty darn good. I had never really paid attention to how cute Tyler was. He had a black dress shirt with a white tie, no jacket. I like his look, I decided, nodding to myself.

Rosalie pushed me forward a little more.

"Here's your coat," she said, handing me a black jacket, "don't stay out too late."

"Okay, mom!" I joked back, heading out the door. Tyler offered me his arm, and I took it, descending our front steps feeling like a princess.

Tyler opened the door to his car for me, and then quickly walked around to the driver's side.

"I'm so glad it was you that won me," Tyler said, breaking the ice, "I was worried it might be Jessica."

"I thought you were friends with her?" I questioned.

"Friends being the operative word there," Tyler responded.

From that first topic we chatted the entire way to the restaurant. When we got there I discovered that Tyler had reserved a small table in a private area, but not so secluded as to make me uncomfortable.

"What a nice guy," I thought, smiling at him.

His whole face lit up. "I hope you like Italian!" he said.

"Can't live without it," I joked back.

I was having such a good time with Tyler, I didn't even notice my friends come in an hour later. It wasn't until I heard a screech of rage that echoed through the entire room that I noticed Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett, James, Mike and Victoria, Jessica, Edward and Lauren all seated at a large table towards the back of the restaurant.

From what I could see, somehow an entire pitcher of water had been dumped on Jessica.

Jessica picked up her coke and took aim at Alice, who ducked. The soda hit Victoria fully in the face. She sputtered for a moment, then reached over Alice and grabbed a hold of Jessica's hair with one hand. With the other hand she wiped her face with a napkin. What she said next made me glad I was across the room with Tyler, instead of sitting at that table. In a voice low and rough, but clearly audible she hissed, "You will regret that, you bitch!"


	16. Awesome on Monday

**A/N: So....yeah...just review. I'm fairly certain some of you will be disappointed...but I have an idea for a better fight scene..so this is what you get. Btw, this is the date night for everyone else.**

**Disclaimer: I'm gettin really sick of doing this...**

RosaliePOV:

After getting Bella ready for her date with Tyler, Alice and I headed back to Alice's house.

"I almost feel like I shouldn't dress up," Alice sighed, "It seems wrong when it's not Jasper."

"Yeah, but you will see him, plus it's a nice restaurant, you don't want to look out of place," I pointed out. "Not to mention, at least you have a boyfriend there, Emmett has resisted the urge to ask me rather easily," I added petulantly.

"Don't pout, Rosie," Alice teased me, "I have it on good authority he's just afraid you'll say no."

We continued lightly teasing each other while we got ready. James arrived first, so I told Alice I would see her later, winked at her, and headed out the door. I don't really know James all that well, but he seems like a nice guy. We kept up a light conversation about frivolous things on the way to the restaurant.

"We're probably going to run into some other people on their dates tonight," James said, turning to look at me.

"That's ok," I responded, he looked a little nervous.

"I might invite them to sit with us," he added.

"Really?" I said, this was what I wanted, but I was confused that I didn't have to encourage it. Didn't he like me at all?

"Well…" he hedged, blushing a little, "It is possible Emmett threatened to remove certain body parts that I am particularly fond of, if I got too cozy with you."

I laughed, delighted at this development.

"Don't you worry about Emmett, I will handle him," I grinned at James, "but for Alice's sake, do you think we could sit with her and Mike?"

"Sure!" James responded, brightening considerably, "Mike is a funny guy."

We got into the car and headed into the restaurant. We arrived the exact same time as Emmett and Lauren. I suspected Alice had texted Em the moment we exited her house.

"Hey James," Emmett said, arching his brow significantly, "Would you and Rosalie like to join us?"

James looked nervously from Emmett to me. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Whatever."

"That sounds great," James answered, a little too enthusiastically, if you ask me. "We were going to invite Alice and Mike to join us as well," James added.

"What a lovely idea," Emmett grinned.

I rolled my eyes at him behind James' back. They were making this almost too easy.

As we were talking to the hostess, Edward and Jasper arrived with their dates.

"Hey buddies!" Emmett shouted, "Wanna join us?"

"Sure" Edward called, at the same time as Jasper said, "Sounds good."

I saw both Jessica and Victoria grimace, but neither said anything. Maybe they wanted to stay on their dates' good sides.

"So how many is it going to be total?" the hostess asked us, looking a little harried as Alice and Mike walked up and joined our group as well.

"Ten," I said to her, "Everyone is here now."

The hostess led us all to a long rectangular table and with some creative maneuvers; we managed to get all the girls on one side of the table and all the boys on the other.

I was on one end of the girl side, followed by Victoria, Alice, Jessica and Lauren on the end, and our dates were opposite us.

All in all the evening was going rather well, with the exception of some pouting on from Lauren and Jessica. Victoria on the other hand, seemed to take the group seating as a challenge rather than an insult. She was monopolizing all of the boys with her over the top flirting. Alice and I chose to bite out tongues, but only because it was so fun to watch the boys squirm. Everything would have remained genial but tense, had Jessica stuck to pouting, but evidently half way through the meal, she decided enough was enough, and began her campaign for Edward's interest with a vengeance.  
Apparently the girl was without shame, because her conversation opener was "Hey Eddie, guess what color underwear I have on!"

Everyone got kinda quiet and Edward blushed bright red. In fact, the only person I've ever seen redder is Bella.

"Umm, I don't know…" Edward finally mumbled, because everyone at the table was either staring at him or Jessica, waiting to see what would happen next.

"Green!" Jessica crowed proudly, "to match your eyes."

I was about to take pity on Edward and change the subject when Alice took the matter out of my hands.

"Boy, I'm thirsty," she said, pulling her water glass close to the edge of the table. She then reached for the water pitcher in the center of the table. In a matter of seconds, so fast I couldn't tell how she had done it and still made it look accidental, the pitcher of water was all over Jessica's lap.

Jessica picked up her coke and took aim at Alice, who ducked. The soda hit Victoria fully in the face. She sputtered for a moment, then reached over Alice and grabbed a hold of Jessica's hair with one hand. With the other hand she wiped her face with a napkin. In a voice low and rough, but clearly audible she hissed, "You will regret that, you bitch!"

"Girls," I said in a firm voice, "Maybe this is not the place to do this."

It was then that Emmett shook himself out of the gleeful daze at the thought of a cat fight.

"Check please!" he called, and all of the guys followed suit.

I looked over to where I had seen Bella and Tyler sitting earlier. Bella looked like she was about to come over to the table. I gestured to her to head out, instead of joining the fray I was sure was imminent.

Victoria was seething and glaring at Jessica and Alice, Lauren was trying to tug Jessica away and all the guys were fumbling with their wallets.

I'll admit, I would love nothing better than to let Victoria tear Jessica apart, but I didn't want Alice involved, and I didn't want us to have to pay to repair any damage than might become of their fight.

I cautiously put my hand on Victoria's shoulder, and she whirled around to face me, fire in her eyes.

"I totally understand," I soothed her, "but let's take it outside, yeah?"

"Humph" she sniffed, then brushed past me and headed out the door.

"Jasper, you better get her out of here," I said to him. He nodded at me and headed towards the exit as well.

"Call me!" Alice called out cheerfully. I just shook my head at her, glancing ruefully at the restaurant patrons who looked disappointed at being denied their entertainment.

"Let's get out of here," Edward muttered, tugging on Jessica's arm. Jessica, being completely unaware, thought he was trying to get her alone.

"Oh Eddie!" she sang as they headed out, "I knew it was only a matter of time before you couldn't control yourself."

I looked at Emmett, who hastily signed his receipt and then said, "Lauren and I will be going now." Lauren followed him meekly out of the restaurant. Although just as boy crazy as Jessica, Lauren was aware enough to realize she didn't have a chance with Emmett.

"Boys, I think it's time you took us home," I said to James and Mike. We all headed out of the restaurant. Alice smiled apologetically at the hostess.

"One of the best dates ever!" James said to me, grinning as we got into his car.

"It was kind of funny," I replied smiling now that the danger was over.

We both looked at each other and burst out laughing; school is going to be awesome on Monday!


	17. I am so Whipped

**A/N: First I want to apologize for my lack of updating (I do that alot, don't I?) I started school again, and I had forgotten how time consuming it was! Second, this is a super short chapter. Its not even close to 1000 words, but I wanted to give you all something to tide you over until I can pull a complete chapter out of my head. Third, I think I implied that this chapter would be Monday at school, but I lied, because its basically what everyone was thinking as they went to bed after the big date night.**

**Disclaimer: If I could create characters half this good, I would die happy! Instead, I have to lust over SM's characters. :( *sigh***

BellaPOV:

When I got home Friday I spent half the night talking to Alice and Rosalie online about all the messed up stuff that happened at their table. Surprisingly, Alice did not seem at all interested in my date with Tyler, although Rosalie did ask me about it. Finally, after a yawn that practically cracked my jaw, I bid them good night and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Jasper was home and I stopped in his doorway.

"Hey Jazz, exciting night?" I asked him, smirking.

"I know you just talked about it with Alice and Rosalie, so I am not going to rehash the whole thing with you. Suffice it to say I will not be cherishing the memory," Jasper replied, looking at me, exasperated. "You looked like you were having a pretty good time with Tyler," he said, a speculative gleam in his eye.

"I did," I responded, glad I was finally going to get to talk about my night, "Ty is really nice, and when he dropped me off he said we should do it again."

"Ty, huh?" Jasper said, "You like him?"

"I don't know. He's cute and funny and I should like him, but there isn't really any spark there." I replied thoughtfully. "I think if he asks me out again, I might say yes, just in case I missed the spark amongst all my nervousness tonight."

"Just so long as you don't lead him on," Jasper agreed.

"Oh can you see that?" I giggled, "Bella Swan, femme fatale, leading boys on to heartbreak."

"I see your point," Jasper chuckled, "Now go to bed!"

I lay in bed, rethinking my evening with Tyler and trying to remember if I had ever felt that pull of desire in the pit of my stomach. I had been so nervous when he picked me up! When I though back on it, however, it wasn't like the thought of Tyler made me tingly. Unbidden, my thoughts turned to Edward. I felt bad that he had to spend the evening with Jessica. I had learned over the last week that Jessica was his worst nightmare, like Mike was mine. I though back to how annoyingly persistent Mike had been before Jacob had threatened his life freshman year. I sighed, turning over, and resolving to try and sleep. Why was I so upset at Edward's unfortunate luck? We'd only been friends a week, not really time enough for me to feel more than a slight pang of pity, yet here I was, consumed with anger and sympathy about the whole situation. Poor Edward.

EdwardPOV:

Did she really have a good time with Tyler? Did she think he was attractive? Was he going to go out with him again? What would she say if I asked her out? Is it too soon? After all, I did only start talking to her last Sunday. And she made the first move. She might think I'm weird. What if I asked her to do something as friends? That might work. Meanwhile, maybe I'll try and convince Jasper that he doesn't want Bella dating Tyler.  
I smiled at that thought and flipped onto my back, staring up at the ceiling. Now that I'd decided what to do, I wanted to do it now. Unfortunately, it was three in the morning and I needed to sleep.

EmmettPOV:

Why hadn't I just asked Rosalie to be my girlfriend? She's like the perfect girl. Hot, knows about cars, watches basketball. You know why you haven't asked her yet! The little voice in my head screamed. You know you're not good enough for her. She smarter than you, and she could get any guy she wants, why settle for you, Emmett? Shut up! I yelled in my head. I think I'm going crazy.

RosaliePOV:

Why hasn't Emmett asked me out yet? I know I'm hot, I know he likes me, so what's holding him back? God I love him so much. What will I do if he decides I'm too bitchy and demanding? Maybe I should be nicer? No, that won't work. Maybe I should upgrade the jeep for him. God I'm so weird…what kind of girlfriend pimps her boyfriend's car?

AlicePOV:

I can't believe Jasper agreed to go shopping with me. He must really love me!

JasperPOV:

I can't believe I agreed to go shopping with Alice. I am so whipped.


	18. I Love You

**A/N: So a little shorter than you're used to, but I think it was the right place to end it. See end of chapter for a longer note. Btw, SM owns all but my plot line…sniff.**

BellaPOV:

I know now that I had been lulled into a false sense of security, thinking the fight between Victoria and whoever she could get her hands on would never happen. I mean, she had graduated already, so I didn't think an opportunity for revenge would present itself…how wrong I was.

_**Flashback:**_

"_**Alice, I packed lunch, I don't want to wait in line with you," I whined, hoping she would release me to go sit with Angela. I was anxious to find out how her date had gone.**_

"_**You can go see Angela once I'm safely at my seat away from Jessica," she answered as we got in line…behind Lauren and Jessica. Figures. But they just ignored us. I sighed in relief.**_

"_**Fancy seeing you here," I heard a snide nasally voice from behind me. I turned and there was Victoria. She moved ahead of me and slid in between Alice and I. "You don't mind if I cut, do you?" Victoria asked rhetorically. Alice sniffed but didn't say anything.**_

"_**What are you doing here Victoria?" I asked her.**_

"_**Just visiting my cousin," she said in a sickly sweet voice, wiggling her fingers at a sick looking freshman girl sitting in the corner of the lunchroom.**_

_**Alice ignored the conversation and got her sloppy joe from the lunch lady and waited to pay. Victoria leaned in close and whispered to Alice, "I know that water wasn't an accident," then smiled viciously and deliberately shoved Alice. **_

_**It was like slow motion, Alice fell forward, smashing her tray against her chest and knocking into Lauren. Lauren had unwisely chosen high heels as her footwear today, and was thrown off balance. She knocked into Jessica, who also ended up with a chest full of sloppy joe.**_

_**Jessica shrieked, whiling around to see Alice and Victoria. The lunch room had gone silent and all eyes were on us. Jessica screamed again and reached for Alice. Lauren lost the battle for her balance and landed on her butt. Jessica tripped over her, and having successfully grabbed what little hair Alice had, took her down with her. Victoria did not want to be left out, so she tried to kick Alice. Alice saw it coming and grabbed Victoria's foot and yanked. This sent Victoria back into me. Never the most graceful person, I unsuccessfully attempted to prevent myself from falling. The last thing I remember before the blackness is hearing a voice from behind me shouting, "Bella, no!"**_

_**End Flashback**_

So now, here I was, sitting in the hospital, waiting for Dr. Cullen and Charlie to finish discussing me as if I wasn't present. Jasper was sitting in a chair next to me. I decided to ignore the adults the same way they were ignoring me.

"Jasper," I said, turning the upper half of my body to face him, "Tell me, did Alice win?"

Jasper chuckled, "Yeah, once Rosalie got involved, it was over for Vicki and Jess,"

"Please tell me someone else got hurt, so I won't be the only one looking ridiculous tomorrow," I pleaded.

"I'm pretty sure Jessica has a black eye, and I think Rose broke Victoria's nose, so there's that…" Jasper trailed off as someone knocked on my door. Alice was standing there looking sheepish, holding an ice pack on her hand. Jasper leaped up and pulled her into a hug.

Alice started crying, "I'm so sorry Bella, this is all my fault!"

I grinned, "Like I haven't been here before"

She smiled, I giggled, before I knew it, all three of us were crying from laughing so hard, and Charlie and Dr. Cullen were staring askance at us, confusion all over their faces.

RosaliePOV:

I was sitting in my room, pondering the events of the day. I hope Bella is okay, and I hope Charlie isn't too hard on her. I mean, after all, it wasn't really her fault. I grinned then, thinking back to the satisfying crunch my fist had made when it connected with Victoria's face.  
I sighed, lying back on my bed, not tired, but with nothing else to do. I had the next few days on I.S.S. to do my homework, so I didn't bother opening my book bag. Suddenly…

_Lying beside you, here in the dark  
Feeling your heart beat with mine  
Softly you whisper, you're so sincere  
How could our love be so blind  
We sailed on together  
We drifted apart  
And here you are by my side  
_  
I ran to my window, opened it and looked outside. Emmett was standing there, holding his iPod in its dock, volume turned all the way up, playing Open Arms by Journey.

_So now I come to you, with open arms  
Nothing to hide, believe what I say  
So here I am with open arms  
Hoping you'll see what your love means to me  
Open arms  
_  
Em turned off the song after that line. He looked nervous and embarassed. I could see my next door neighbor peering out her window curiously.

"So, will you be my girlfriend?" he shouted up to me.

"Just a minute," I yelled back. I slammed my window shut and ran down stairs, throwing open the front door. "Get over here you big lug! Of course!" I squealed (that's right, Alice would have been proud) leaping into his arms. "I thought you'd never ask," I said into his ear.

"I was nervous," he admitted, carrying me into my house, kicking the door shut behind him. "But when I saw you take out Victoria today, I knew I had to make sure you were mine. All the guys in the lunch room wanted you, they were drooling, I got worried." Emmett explained, blushing a little.

"Are you kidding!? You've been the only guy for me ever since you moved here," I told him, smacking him on the arm. "How did you know I loved that scene from Say Anything?" I asked him.

"You told me last year," Emmett admitted shyly.

"You remembered?"

"I remember everything you say," Emmett replied, "I love you."

**A/N: Okay, I just want to thank everyone who reviews! I love them. They are like addictive! I have never asked people to review, and I am not going start, but I will say this. If I don't respond to a review, don't stop reviewing! I try only to respond to people who ask questions or point out specific things. But I love all reviews. Also, if you have never heard Open Arms by Journey and you go listen to it, I think you will understand why I chose that song. Its cheesy, and romantic and wonderful all at the same time. Also, if you've never seen Say Anything...go rent it now!**


	19. We Could have Code Names!

**A/N: I feel like a horrible person because of making all of you wait for updates. And I can't even promise it won't happen again, cause it probably will. Total fail, right?! All I can do is say sorry, and hope that you like the new chapter! Also, I just finished reading this wicked awesome fanfic called 'If Every Word I Said Could Make You Laugh' it's called IEWIS for short and it is listed in my favorites, so check it out!**

EdwardPOV:

Jessica was avoiding me. For this, I was eternally grateful, although I was unclear how we had gone from her throwing herself at me when I dropped her off after the disastrous date, to her turning and walking away from me in the hallway. I said a quick prayer of thanks and headed into the lunchroom.

I was seated next to Jasper, covertly watching Bella in the lunch line when all hell broke loose.

Victoria (What the hell is she doing here?!) pushed Alice into Lauren and Jessica, and then turned on poor innocent Bella. I half stood; ready to defend her, but it was too late. Victoria had pushed Bella backwards, and Bella fell hard, failing to catch herself on her arms, or land on her butt. I yelled out, "Bella, no!" As if that would have any affect on what was happening.

Her head slammed into the cement floor of the cafeteria and the sound was deafening to my ears. I think I may have leapt over the table in my hurry to get to her.

Emmett, who had been standing with Rosalie a few people behind her in the line, got there before me. He was gently slapping her face, and shouting, "Bella, wake up!"  
She was unconscious! What if she had a concussion, or some sort of subdural hematoma, or brain swelling, she could die! I rounded on Victoria and growled at her. Victoria was cowering on the ground, holding her nose while Rosalie hovered over her, shaking her fist. I glanced quickly over towards Alice to see if she was okay. Jessica had grabbed her hair, but Alice punched her in the eye, and Jessica quickly let go. Jasper was glaring between Victoria and Alice, as if he couldn't decide who to yell at first.

I turned my attention back to Victoria.

"If you ever come near Bella or Alice again, I'll forget what my parents taught me about not hitting girls," I said slowly in a menacing voice.

I noticed Jasper look askance at me from the corner of my eye, but I was too focused on Victoria to pay him much attention. She was cowering away from me and she looked like she wanted to cry. "I'm sorry," she whispered, fear in her tone.

"I'll add to Eddie's threat by saying you should probably just stay right out of town, because if I see you around, I might not be able to control my anger," Jasper added, snapping his fingers in her face to make sure she was paying attention to him.

Even though it seemed like everything was going in slow motion, it had only been maybe two minutes since Bella had hit the floor. The lunch monitor had made his way over, "I think I'll take it from here, boys," he said to Jasper and I. Satisfied that our message had gotten to Victoria, we both turned our attention to Bella.

"Is she okay?" I asked Emmett.

"I think someone should call 911, she hasn't opened her eyes yet," he replied, sounding worried.

Jasper whipped out his cell and dialed. As he explained the situation to the operator, I looked around the lunchroom. Every eye was on us and it occurred to me that my behavior wasn't exactly normal for someone who supposedly only started talking to Bella a week ago. I could feel my cheeks heating as I realized why Jasper had looked at me strangely earlier. It's definitely not my place to be her defender…at least not yet.

Which is why, when the ambulance came, I stood and watched, albeit anxiously, as Jasper got in with Bella for the ride to the hospital. As soon as the ambulance pulled away I turned to Emmett, "Let's go!" I urged him.

"Where are we going?" Emmett asked me, confused.

"To the hospital of course," I responded, it seemed logical to me.

"Wait!" I heard Alice call as we headed out of the school. Alice and Rosalie were jogging slightly to catch up with us.

"Emmett, you can take Rosalie to the hospital, Edward, you can take me home to change my clothes, and then we'll join you," Alice ordered.

"But, I don't…" was all I got out before she cut me off.

"Believe me Edward, you want to go with me," Alice said, staring at me meaningfully.

"Okay then, I guess I'll see you in a bit at the hospital," I said to Emmett and Rosalie, heading with Alice towards her car in the parking lot.

Alice handed me her keys when I opened the passenger door for her. I walked around the front of the car and got in.

I started the car, but before I put it in gear, I turned and studied Alice.

"What is so important, you had to delay my arrival at the hospital?" I asked her, curious.

"Edward, it is clear to me, and now probably at least half the student body at Forks High, that you like Bella," Alice started.

"Ummm, I don't.." I was saying when Alice interrupted me for the second time today.

"Yeah, you do," she said, exasperated, "its cool, Rosalie and I have been plotting to get you two together for weeks now. We totally approve"

"You've been plotting?" I asked, but was denied an answer by Alice's phone ringing.

"Hello?" Alice answered, "I see, well I'll tell him. Yeah, I'll call you later," Alice snapped her phone shut.

"Bella is being discharged tonight, so Emmett and Rosalie decided to go home. Evidently your dad didn't want a bunch of people in the room," Alice told me, "Emmett is gonna meet you at my house, since we are in my car."

I sighed gloomily, but I do realize that showing up at the hospital would be kinda weird right now. Besides, if she was well enough to go home tonight, I guess I could wait until tomorrow to see her.

AlicePOV:

I watched from my window as Edward and Emmett pulled away. Then I dialed Rosalie.

"Oh my gosh, Edward was going to show up at the hospital all frantic about her. It would have been so weird! You know Bella would not find that normal," I spilled out so quickly I'm amazed Rosalie comprehended it all.

"I'm glad, but now that Jasper, at least, has caught on, we can move forward with Operation Bella and Edward" Rosalie mused.

"I know!" I squealed, "I can't wait!" My call waiting beeped, and I saw that Jasper was calling me.

"Gotta go Rosie, we'll talk about it tomorrow!" I said, switching over to Jasper, "Hey Jazzy, how's Bella?"

"She hasn't woken, but they did some sort of scan and Dr. Cullen says there is no concussion and she will wake up soon" he answered, "Can you come here, I need to talk to you"

"On my way!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time I arrived at the hospital, Bella had woken up. We were laughing together about nothing at all really, when Dr. Cullen said that it was okay for Bella to leave.

"I'll get a ride from Alice," Jasper told Charlie, and we headed out the door.

The minute we were in the car, Jasper turned and faced me, questions in his eyes. It was almost exactly what Edward had done, and it was a little creepy.

"What is going on with Edward?" he demanded.

"How should I know?" I hedged

"Oh please, Alice dear, you always know everything before any one else…and I happen to know you were in the car with him after we left school today." Jasper barked at me, frustrated.

"Okay, so maybe Edward has had a crush on Bella for, like, forever. And it's possible Rose and I are trying to play matchmaker," I replied, covering my face and waiting for him to scold me for interfering. He was silent, so I peeked up at him.

"Edward…and Bella," he mused softly to himself, "I could be okay with that."

"Excellent, cause that boy is shy, and he will need some major encouragement!" I exclaimed, excited at having Jasper's help.

"Does Emmett realize?" Jasper asked.

"He's not quite as observant, plus he was trying to revive Bella while Edward was being all 'knight in shining armor-ish'" I giggled.

"We should have a team meeting tomorrow to plan our strategy," Jasper said, getting into the idea now that it had time to settle, "We could have code names!"


	20. Those Boys

**A/N: So this is short, but the next few things that happen have to either be one ginormous chapter, or three smaller chapters. I opted for the three smaller, of which you will receive two today and the final tomorrow. Also, I feel like we haven't heard from Emmett recently, so I remedied that here. I just want to thank everyone who reviews…you all are AWESOME! I get some crazy compliments, and it makes me feel all warm inside! Additionally, please tell me you saw the New Moon preview they showed during the MTV Movie Awards! It was fantastic! There is no way I'm erasing it from my Tivo until at least November.**

EmmettPOV:

I'm not stupid. I get frustrated sometimes, because everyone assumes I am unobservant because of my outgoing personality. And ok, I occasionally say things that make me sound dumb. But that doesn't make me dumb…to borrow a line from one of my favorite movies…Just because I'm smart, doesn't mean I can't act stupid.

So I knew something was up with Edward. My brother zipped across that lunchroom like a cheetah on speed. He and Bella are barely friends, but he acted like she was love of his life. Which, knowing Eddie boy, is probably exactly what she is. I feel bad sometimes, cause he's so shy and I'm so not. I can't be easy having someone like me as a brother.  
Which brings me to the present: Here I am sitting in the diner with Jasper, Rosalie and Alice, tired, hungry and a little cranky, listening to Alice chatter. I can clearly tell that something needs to be done to help Edward with the Bella situation. So I don't need Alice to explain it to me like I'm an idiot.

"Yeah yeah," I stopped her mid-explanation, "Edward has no guts, we need to get them together, yada yada, what are we going to do?"

"I think we should establish our code names first," Jasper cut in before Alice could answer me. Alice rolled her eyes.

"We won't be spying on them, there won't be any walkie-talkies involved, code names are unnecessary," Alice said, exasperated.

"Code names?" I perked up at that thought, completely ignoring Alice, "Can I be Godzilla?!"

"Dude, ummm, yeah!" Jasper answered before either girl had a chance to say anything, "I want to be Lone Star!"

"Just give in to the insanity, Alice, it will be easier than fighting these two," Rosalie sighed. That's my girl!

"You can be Thorn!" I told her.

"Why is that?" she looked at me suspiciously.

"Cause every Rose has its thorn," I sang.

"Every night has its dawn…" Jasper added.

"That's just cheesy," Alice rolled her eyes again.

"Oh yeah?" Jasper countered, "You can be Tinkerbelle."

"I think not," Alice sighed, "If I must have a code name, I'd rather be Titania, she is a much cooler fairy if you ask me."  
"Now that we have that settled," Rosalie interrupted when it looked like Jasper was about to start an argument with Alice on which fairy is truly superior, "what are we going to do about Edward and Bella?"

"I think Jasper and I should throw them together a lot, it won't look as suspicious," I started.

"And you girls can give advice to Edward, since I know you already let on to him that you know he likes her," Jasper finished my thought.

Rosalie and Alice glanced at each other, barely containing their outright shock at our genius plan.

"Did you guys talk about this before we met today?" Alice eyed me suspiciously.

"I know we aren't as smart as you ladies, but we have some excellent strategizing skills," Jasper huffed.

"Don't get offended Jazz, we were just surprised that you had a plan. We've been thinking about this for weeks and we didn't have a plan beyond making Edward jealous when Bella went on that date with Tyler," Rosalie soothed Jasper's ruffled feathers.

"We have given some consideration to finding Edward a date," I admitted, "We just hadn't picked a girl." Our waitress chose that moment to set my pancakes in front of me. Mmmmm, I was so hungry!

"I'm going to invite Edward over after practice today," Jasper said between bites of his breakfast.

"We're going over to see Bella when we're done here, so we will make sure she dresses properly," Alice said. Alice and Rosalie had gotten suspended for fighting in school. Edward and I just had detention, cause all we did was leave school early.

"She won't think its weird you're making her dress nice for a day at home?" I asked.

"I can't believe you even asked me that," Alice giggled, "She's gotten used to me making her wear whatever I want."

I scraped my plate wistfully, whishing there were more pancakes on it. I frowned.

"I think you inhaled that Em," Rosalie teased me. I smiled ruefully. Jasper glanced at his watch, and his eyes got wide.

"We are gonna be late for school, we have to go!" he exclaimed, throwing a ten on the table, kissing Alice and heading towards his car.

"See ya later…girlfriend" I kissed Rosalie and threw my own money on the table.

"Those boys…" I heard her mutter to Alice as I threw the door to the diner open and headed to my own vehicle.

**A/N: Bonus points if you can tell me what movie Emmett referenced and the title and artist of the song Emmett and Jasper sing!**


	21. Buffy Every Morning

**A/N: Okey Dokey, here is section two as promised! And I even felt sick all day! Yay! To everyone who correctly said "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison. As to the movie Emmett quoted, it was Camp Nowhere. I am extremely disappointed that you all don't love it as much as I do. True, it may have extra sentimental value for me, but still. Go rent it! It's stupid, silly, fun that you don't have to think about!**

**Disclaimer: I haven't done one of these for a couple chapters…but I think you all know that I did not come up with the awesomeness that is Emmett, Jasper and Edward all by myself.**

BellaPOV:

This is ridiculous. I am perfectly fine. I could be in school right now. In fact, I could have avoided the hospital all together if Jasper had just waited 15 or 20 minutes for me to wake up. I hate hospitals! But noooo, thanks to Jasper's premature panic, I had spent three hours in the ER yesterday, and now Charlie was refusing to let me go to school.

And Jasper, that no-good, lousy, I-get-to-go-to-school brother of mine had left the house freakishly early today and I had no one to listen to my complaining. Ridiculous!

The doorbell rang, interrupting my reverie. Who would come over at 7:30 in the morning, on a school day? I carefully made my way downstairs…the last thing I needed was to trip and fall and land myself right back in the hospital.

I opened the door and found Alice and Rosalie standing there looking sheepish and carrying what looked like enough supplies for us to hole up indoors for three days.

"What are you doing here instead of at school?" I voiced my thoughts out loud.

"Yeah, I may have forgotten to tell you that Rose and I got suspended for fighting school," Alice admitted sheepishly.

"That isn't the most important news, however," Rosalie said, pausing for dramatic effect, "Emmett asked me out last night!"

I squealed and launched myself at her for a hug.

"That's so exciting! How did he do it? You said yes, right? Was it romantic? I'm so happy for you!" I was talking a mile a minute and Rosalie was laughing lightly.

"Let's take this party inside, and I'll tell you all about it," Rose nudged me backwards through the door, and she and Alice followed.

"We are going to have a total girls' day! Chick flicks, makeovers, junk food, its going to be amazing!" Alice told me excitedly.

My stomach chose that moment to grumble loudly. I had been so busy lamenting my poor fortune that I hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

"Alice and I ate already, but we brought you a donut," Rose told me, handing me a brown bag from the bakery.

"Is this a cherry fritter!?" I shoved my hand in the bag and pulled out…YES! A perfect, slightly warm, cherry fritter. "You guys are clearly the best friends ever," I said through a mouthful, "Now spill Rose."

"Okay, so you know how much I love that scene in Say Anything, where John Cusak holds the radio above his head and plays a song to Ione Sky?" I nodded. "Well, Emmett recreated it, last night," Rosalie blushed a little.

"Squeeeeeeeee!" was all I could manage, between my excitement and my full mouth. Alice sighed, a faraway look in her eye. She sighed, and then shook herself.

"What should we do first?" I asked, now that I was finished eating,

"You are going to go shower, and Rose and I are going to set up," Alice instructed.

"I'm not smelly, am I?" I asked, horrified.

"No, but your hair does kind of smell like a hospital. Plus, it needs to be clean for when we style it later," Rosalie answered.

I sighed in relief and headed back up the stairs. I could hear the girls giggling downstairs as I grabbed some yoga pants, clean under-things and a t-shirt and headed into the bathroom.

Is it weird that I was excited to use my new shampoo? I had been using strawberry shampoo for what seems like forever, because Jacob had mentioned once how much he liked the scent. When we broke up, I decided to try a new scent, but I had only run out of strawberry yesterday. So today I'm going to smell like cactus flower…whatever that is.

This new one smells great, and since I don't have a boyfriend to please, I think I'll stick with it.

I showered quickly, then dried off and threw my clothes on. I ran a brush through my hair, but didn't bother styling it. I also neglected my normal lip gloss and mascara application. I knew there was really no point, I had experienced (cue music and deep announcer guy) 'The Makeover Show with Alice and Rosalie' (and clap!) before. I giggled to myself as my imaginary TV show played out in my head.

I headed back downstairs, carrying my CD case and season six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If I was going to be forced to submit to their makeover, they were gonna have to watch the musical episode of Buffy.

Alice and Rosalie both groaned loudly when they saw what I was holding, but I swear they secretly love it just as much as me.

"Let's watch movies first," I said, a feeling of dread filling my stomach when I saw the makeup and hair products spread all over the coffee table, "I'll even let you pick!"

"Dirty Dancing!" Alice and Rosalie shouted at the same time.

I laughed as they each pulled a copy out of their bags. "Dirty Dancing it is," I said, grabbing Alice's copy and putting it in the DVD player.

We giggled, drooled, sighed, and cried all through Dirty Dancing, and The Holiday and Love Actually. We also ate way too many Oreos.

"Time for your makeover!" Alice proclaimed.

"Time for Buffy!" I sang back to her.

"Put it in while we got pick your outfit," Rosalie told me.

I shrugged my shoulders and set about clearing up our glasses and the empty Oreo package. I also straightened my DVDs and put the Buffy disc in. I wondered why they were picking out clothes. Usually they played with my face and hair, and left my wardrobe to me. Whatever. They kept me company all day; they can do whatever they want to me.

Alice and Rosalie ended up putting me in jeans, for which I was thankful. They paired it with a fitted scoop-neck t-shirt. I was surprised that Alice hadn't tried for something fancier. Rosalie painted my toenails while Alice 'put on' my face. Again Alice went with the less-is-more look for me, and although I was surprised, I kept my mouth shut. When I had finished singing the last notes from "Once More, With Feeling" Rosalie dragged me upstairs to do my hair. She pinned back the top half, leaving a few strand to shape my face. Then she gently curled all of it. When they finally let me see my self, I was shocked. Although it seemed like they had barely done anything to me, I looked completely different. Alice had somehow managed to make me look creamy where I once was pale, my eyes mysterious instead of average, and my hair looked shiny instead of dull. I felt tears prick my eyes and valiantly fought them off. There was no way I was going to ruin the work they had put into me. I turned to face them.

"What's wrong?" Alice looked worried, and I realized my face must have showed all the emotion I was feeling right now.

"You guys are amazing," I choked out, throwing my arms around her and Rose. "You may have to come over and do this for me every morning before school," I added.

"Okay!" Alice exclaimed at the same time as Rosalie said, "Not if I have to watch Buffy every morning!"

**A/N: This time anyone who has actually seen "Once More, With Feeling" from season six of Buffy get mucho bonus points…as this is my favorite show EVER! If you have not seen it…I am sad for you**.


	22. Candyman

**A/N: So I love this chapter, cause it has a lot of me in it. So if you hate it, please don't let me know…pretty please. Also, I apologize that it's a day late, my lil bro came over for his 18 b-day celebration last night and hogged my computer!**

EdwardPOV:

So basically my plan for the day was to get myself invited over to Jasper's house, but make it seem like his idea. Mission accomplished. Okay, I might be exaggerating my own powers of suggestion. Jasper practically accosted me out front of the school today. He was all, "I need your help with something, can you come over?" And I jumped on that like a kangaroo on crack. I am slightly curious about what he needs my help with, but at this point I don't care. What I'm having trouble with is what I will say to Bella once I get to the house. '_Hey, I'm so in love with you that I almost beat up a girl and acted like a crazy person in front of our whole school yesterday_' would be accurate, but embarrassing. Which is why I am now sitting in the locker room, completely ready for practice, anxiously waiting for Alice to text me back. I need advice…desperately!

I had sent her a message about five minutes, asking her what I should say.

My phone buzzed. _**Just ask her about books**_, was all it said. That's it?! I groaned, but put my phone away. I had to get to the gym if I didn't want Coach to assign me suicides.

******************************************************************

I ran my hand through my still damp hair as I followed Jasper into the house. I could smell something amazing coming from the kitchen, but instead of following my nose, I followed Jasper up the stairs. We had just reached the top of the steps when Alice burst out of Bella's room and launched herself at Jasper. He backed them into his room, kissing her, and throwing me an apologetic look. He shut the door in my face and I stood there in the hallway, hands in my pockets, wondering what to do. I was turning to head back downstairs when I heard the most god-awful sounds coming from Bella's room.

_Yo Yo This is Mandizzle! And I'm Kizzate! And we're gonna rock your world!_

Two female voices were hollering.

I pushed her door open a little and leaned on the doorjamb, watching Bella as she, well I can't really call it singing, but for lack of a better term, sang along.

_We were walkin to the school one sunny day when we ran into some kids who said come on, lets play. We can find things to do, yeah plenty of stuff, don't wanna go to school, no we've had enough. We looked at each other and one of us said, sounds like they got Rocks in the head._

_Rocks, rocks, rocks in the head!_

_Rocks, Rocks, Rocks in the head!_

_Saw one of those kids he was at the grocery store, walkin up and down the aisles, knockin cans on the floor. His momma said stop it, I'ma bust your face, he turned right around and broke a vase. I saw him later, he was squishing the bread, and I said to myself, he got rocks in the head!_

I'd heard enough.  
"What is this crap?" I asked her loudly. Bella jumped two feet in the air and spun around to face me. She gasped and turned off her stereo. The blush staining her cheeks was adorable and I chuckled a little.

"How long have you been there?" she asked me breathlessly, and then her expression changed, "It is not crap!"

"Have you heard real music? Cause that is not it," I told her.

"Okay, maybe it's not the best music in the world," Bella conceded, "but its fun, and I like it." There was a mutinous gleam in her eye and I think I fell in love all over again.  
"Don't you have anything embarrassing you listen to?" she challenged me.

I opened my mouth to answer, then paused. Did I really want to tell her? It could change the way she thought about me. What the hell, if things go the way I want, she'll find out someday anyway.

"It's possible I am a closet Aqua fan," I admitted, ducking my head to avoid eye contact.

"As in…Barbie Girl?" Bella's jaw dropped.

"Umm, yeah," I was the one blushing now.

"Get in here!" she whispered harshly, pulling on my arm and slamming the door behind me. She locked it, then silently gestured for me to follow her over to her closet, then pointed to a box on the top shelf. I reached up and grabbed it, handing it to her. She quickly extracted something from it and headed over to the CD player. I watched her, unsure of what exactly was happening, but a not even a little disappointed that I was locked in her bedroom with her.

She turned to face me, a sly smile on her face. "I happen to love Barbie Girl," her smile turned into a full on grin, "but I like Candyman even better." She pressed the play button and the song blasted out through the speakers.

_I wish that you were my Lollipop  
Sweet things, I will never get enough  
If you show me to the sugar tree,  
will you give me a sodapop for free?_

Come with me Honey,  
I'm your sweet sugar Candyman

"Why do you keep the CD hidden if you love it so much?" I asked her.

"Just wait," she nodded her head toward the bedroom door and stated counting down, "5..4..3..2..1" Right as she got to "1" someone banged loudly on the door.

"You know how much I hate that song!" I heard Jasper shout over the noise.

Bella giggled. "Jazz destroyed my first two copies. I had to start hiding it so he wouldn't come into my room a break it," she explained. Jasper's pounding got louder so Bella started singing along, adding her voice to the din from the stereo. _Oh what the hell_, I though to myself and joined in.

_Oh my love - I know you are my Candyman,  
And oh my love - your word is my command  
Oh my love - I know you are my Candyman,  
And oh my love - let us fly to Bountyland_

You are my Lollipop - sugar sugar top  
You are my Lollipop - sugar sugar top


	23. Is It Hot In Here?

**A/N: There is a longer note at the bottom! For now, just read on!**

**Disclaimer: Would it even do me any good to claim these characters as my own?**

JasperPOV:

This isn't even right. I mean, sure I wanted Edward and Bells to get together, but did they really have to bond over Aqua…in my house? I breathed a sigh of relief when the song ended and Bella did not continue playing the CD.

"Are you still out there?" I heard her call through the door. I opened my mouth to answer, when Alice poked her head out of my bedroom and raised her eyebrow. I though better of it, and quietly returned to my room.

"I feel like a fairy godmother!" Alice squealed when I was back in my room with the door shut.

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. The more I thought about it, the less I liked Edward alone in my sister's room. He is a man after all.

"Don't worry…Bella never went past second base with Jacob…she's not gonna drop her inhibitions suddenly and let Edward deflower her," Alice said, straddling me.

"What about you, Alice?" I eyed her speculatively, "would you let me deflower you?"

Alice pecked me on the lips, and then bounced back off my lap.

"Sure," she giggled, "just as soon as you marry me."

"I…uh…" I stuttered. I don't even know what to say to that!

*********************************************************************

BellaPOV:

I glanced at Edward sheepishly as I took the CD out and put in back in the secret box. I handed it to him to put it back in its place.

He shoved it up on the shelf, then turned back to face me, pushing his hands into his pockets. He half smiled and I was thrown off by the wave attraction I felt. Where is this coming from?! I blushed, suddenly unsure of what to do or say.

"Do you read a lot?" Edward asked me. I must have looked confused, because he gestured to the bookcase I was standing in front of. "You have almost as many books as me," he teased, his eyes sparkling.

"I bet I have more," I challenged him, smiling goofily. He raised his eyebrows.

"Prove it."

I brushed past him and kneeled beside my bed. I reached under and pulled out a Rubbermaid tub full of books. His eyes widened.

"This is just the beginning," I grinned, "I have one more of these under here, and three more in the attic."

"You win," he said. I smiled triumphantly.

"You probably have me beat on music though," I told him, "Jasper mentioned your crazy-big CD collection."

It was Edward's turn to blush. "Yeah," he said, ducking his head, "There's just something about taking the plastic wrap off of a new CD and playing all the way through for the first time."

"I know!" I exclaimed, excited, "I feel the same way!" I looked up at him when I finished sliding my container of books back under the bed. He turned his head away quickly, like he was nervous being caught looking at me. "Its weird, you know," I said.

"What?" he questioned.

"That we weren't friends before this, I mean, we like all the same things," I continued.

"We don't know that," he joked, "You could have terrible taste in movies."

"No, if you like Footloose, that is all I need to know," I replied, referencing his dance from the boy pageant.

"You recognized that?" he asked me, incredulous.

"You mean there were people who didn't?" I was shocked.

"Jessica, for one," he said, and I scoffed loudly.

"No one would ever accuse her of having taste," I said.

"Point," Edward grinned and caught my eyes again. I was mesmerized. There goes that attraction thing again…and cue blush. I wondered what he though about my constant blushing. I covered my face with my hands, peeking out at him. "Don't do that, it's cute when you blush," he said, and then instantly joined me in the red-cheek club.

"Thanks?" I said, unsure of the proper response.

"So…" he started, "Maybe we could hang out again sometime, I could show you my music collection."

"That sounds…cool," I was jumping up and down inside, trying to act like it was totally normal for Edward Cullen to invite me to his house. He kicked an imaginary sport on my floor, and then looked up at me.

"How does Friday after the game sound? You're coming, right?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I replied, mentally making a list of things I now had to do before Friday night.

"We can have Emmett invite Rosalie and Jasper and Alice, too" he added, "That way Carlisle won't give me a hard time about having a girl over."

"Aren't you allowed to?" I asked him, surprised.

"Oh I can," he assured me, "I just never have, and I'm worried he'll embarrass me and you."

"I'm your first?" I asked him, blushing as I realized how that probably sounded.

"Yes," he answered quietly, gazing at me steadily.

Is it hot in here?

**A/N: Okay everyone, don't be too sad now, but this will be my last chapter for a while. I got inspiration for this amazing story the other day, and it's all I can think about. It makes it really hard to work on this story when all I wanna do is write the other one. But I also didn't want to just stop writing without warning all of you. Please don't remove this from your favorites…I promise I will finish it. And…if you put me on author alert…you will get a notice when I publish my new story. It's not as fluffy and fun, but I think the writing is loads better. And I learned my lesson with this story, so I will wait till I have a couple chapters written before I start posting. (I have four already and will probably post once I get up to six) That's all! **

**P.S. Super big THANK YOU to all my fans and reviewers! I'm sending you all virtual hot fudge brownie sundaes!**


	24. Va Va Voom

**A/N: Hey Hey! It's been awhile my friends! I hope this chapter was worth the wait! Also, you can check out my other fic, Leave Me Alone, I'm Lonely. It's an Alice/Jasper, but I love it lots. Also, if you want some other good reading…check out Pin Your Wings Down, or Tropic of Virgo (warning…lemons!)**

**Disclaimer: If I could make money, I would, but I can't…so please no sueing!**

BellaPOV:

I'm pretty sure this was the most nervous I'd ever been in my life. That includes the time I had to give a presentation on the Civil War in History in 9th grade, and the first time I went out with Jacob. Last weekend's date with Tyler…child's play.

"Alice, best friend in the whole world, please tell me that you can help me get ready tonight!" I whispered urgently into her ear as we exited the school building after the final bell.

"Bella, I've had your outfit planned since you told me about Edward's invitation on Monday," she whispered back, clucking her tongue at me, "Now smile and try not to look like we are marching toward your death."

I looked in the direction she was waving. Jasper would have to park right next to Edward's Volvo. Edward was leaning casually against his car, talking to Jasper.

He had this dark blue button-up shirt on and the sun that was peeking through the clouds was glinting of his coppery hair. How had I never noticed how beautiful he was?

As Alice and I approached the car he straightened and opened the passenger door of Jasper's car for me. Sigh. He gave me a crooked half-smile as I slid into the car, and then leaned in towards me. My breath caught in my chest and I could feel the blush staining my cheeks.

"Can't wait for tonight," he whispered. My eyes glazed over at the images his velvety voice produced in my brain. Thankfully, Edward gently shut my door and then got into his own car.

"Bella…Bella…" Alice's voice sounded far away, until she snapped her fingers in front of my face.

"Huh wha?" I mumbled, embarrassed.

"I said…Rosalie is coming over to help as well," she giggled at me. My blush got worse, my cheeks were definitely hot, and Jasper was smirking at me.

"Hey," I pointed a finger at him accusingly, "I never teased you for your crush on Alice," he huffed, and I turned to glare at Alice, "And I barely teased you!"

Now Jasper and Alice were both blushing as well. Satisfied, I crossed my arms and slid down into my seat.

************************************************************************

It's five and I am ready. I've been pushed and pulled and primped for the past two hours. I'd been talked into a skin-tight t-shirt dress with a belt and black leggings that stopped half-way down my calf. Alice and Rosalie did give in to my request to wear my Vans, for which I was grateful. I kinda feel like a rock star with my eyes all smoky and red red lips and my hair all foofy. It's not 80s big, but they did but some sort of volumizer in it and it looked like sex-hair. I was cool with that for once. I'm pretty sure I want Edward to think of it that way. I marveled again at the fact that two weeks ago I'd barely spoken to him, and now we have a semi-date and I want to attack his body.

I don't even recognize myself right now.

Rosalie, Alice and I all piled into the car with Jasper. I had a jacket on over my dress to prevent Jasper having a heart attack. Even though it isn't even remotely low-cut, it doesn't leave anything to the imagination. Sometimes having an older brother is lame.

The drive to Edward and Emmett's house was interminably long and lightning fast. I was drumming my fingers anxiously on the car door and my knee was bouncing up and down.

I practically leapt out of the car when Jasper pulled into the Cullen's driveway. I bounced up the steps and raised my fist to knock.

Before I connected with the heavy wood door it swung open. Emmett was standing there, arms open, grinning gleefully.

"Bella!" he shouted, picking me up and swinging me into the air.

I threw my head back and laughed full out. Emmett is maybe my favorite person ever.

He set me down and I shrugged out of my jacket, my back to him so he could grab it off my shoulders. "Where is Edward" I asked him. When I didn't hear an answer, I turned back to face him. I'm pretty sure he had just been staring at my ass.

"Va va voom, Bella!" he exclaimed, licking his lips lasciviously and leering at me, "You sure you want Eddie? There is enough of me for you and Rosie to share!" Rosalie chose that moment to step into the house and smack Emmett on the head.

"I do not share!" she growled playfully.

"Aww Rosie-baby, I was only kidding," Emmett pleaded, "Edward is helping our mom in the kitchen," he added to me.

I turned to walk into toward the kitchen when I realized I don't actually know where it is.

I turned back to ask for directions and was met by the angry older-brother eyes of Jasper.

"I can not believe you are wearing that! What kind of girl are you" he scolded me.

"I dress like that, what are you trying to say, exactly, about the kind of girls that wear clothes like that?" Alice demanded, scowling.

"Honey, you are not my little sister," Jasper replied.

"Darn right," Alice replied, shrugging out of her own coat. She was wearing an excuse for a dress, and that was all it took to distract Jasper from the lecture I was about to receive.

"Come on Bella, I'll show you to the kitchen," Rosalie said, linking arms with me and leading me out of the entryway and down a hallway to the back of the house.

She pushed open a door and prodded me through. I could smell something amazing and my first sight was Esme, standing at the counter chopping vegetables.

"Bella!" she smiled at me warmly, setting down her knife and wiping her hands on a towel tucked into her apron. She rounded the counter and hugged me. Her acknowledgement of me had drawn Edward's attention from whatever was simmering on the stove. He turned to face me. His eyes widened as Esme stepped away from me and he got a good look at the entire picture I knew I presented.

His pupils dilated and I'm pretty sure that sheen on his face wasn't entirely due to the steam that was rising from the stove.

Success.

Maybe I can be a temptress.

Then I got a good look at him. I stopped breathing. He was wearing this dark gray sweater-thing; I don't even know what it was. But it was tight enough, along with his black jeans, to show off his body perfectly. Thank you, lord, for 2-a-day basketball practices.

Edward shook himself and walked over to me. He hesitated, and then wrapped his arms around me for a gentle hug. I could feel the muscles in his chest and I inhaled his scent, cologne and shampoo and underneath that something musky and completely male. My knees went weak and when he let me go, all too soon, I stumbled slightly. I blushed. Edward's eyes twinkled and he gave me that half-grin. Oh my God. I can't even handle him right now. I cast my eyes about the room, until the lit upon the pots bubbling away behind him.

"Whatcha makin?" I asked brightly, my hand clenched on his shirtsleeve. I realized that I hadn't completely released him from our hug. I dropped my hands quickly and linked them in front of me.

"Italian," he answered me dismissively. He recaptured my hand in his and tugged me toward the door to the kitchen.

"Where are we going?" I asked him, my voice trembling a bit.

"My room," he answered. Was it my imagination, or was his voice huskier?


	25. I Wanna Do Bad Things

**A/N: Okay, so it was closer to 48 hours. In my defense, I had two baby showers! But hopefully, this is worth the wait! I won't say when the next chapter will be up...because unlike the rest of my life, whenever I set a fic deadline, the pressure seems to hinder instead of help.**

**Dislaimer: Clearly my bedroom scene is extremely different…**

EdwardPOV:

Oh my god I'm nervous. I think I have changed my shirt at least three times. Esme finally put me to work helping with dinner, after watching me pace about the house for the past twenty minutes. I was standing in front of the stove, when I heard Esme say her name. I swayed a little, knees weak. Why am I such a chick?! I squared my shoulders and turned to greet her.

Damn…………………………………………………………………..Is it warm in here?

I shook myself out of my daze. Bella's lips were parted and her tongue darted out the wet the bottom one. Something inside me clenched. I stepped toward her, unsure. Should I shake her hand? Hug her? Kiss her? I decided on the more neutral hug, enclosing her in my arms. Ecstatic to finally have her close to me. I breathed in, catching a whiff of some exotic flower and…cinnamon gum?

I had to check myself before I stood here, in the kitchen, holding her for the rest of the night. When I let her go, she swayed and took a little step, using my arm to steady herself. For the first time I got the sense that she was as affected by me as I was by her. It made me want to sing and dance, but all I allowed myself was a small smile.

"Whatcha makin?" she asked me, her voice falsely cheerful. She seemed to realize then that she was still touching me, my shirtsleeve tight in her grip. She dropped her hand, linking it with the other in front of her.

"Italian," I answered her. I don't want to talk about food. And I definitely don't want to stand here in front of Esme and Rosalie to converse. I made a decision, then, that would change the entire course of the evening. I grabbed her hand, interlacing our finger, and pulled out of the room and toward the back staircase.

"Where are we going?" she asked me, and I swear I heard her voice quaver. Was I don't the right thing? Is she going to think I am a total creeper?

"My room," I forced out. My throat was tight, nerves and hormones fighting their way through my system. My voice sounded gravelly, low, and I hoped she didn't notice.

She was silent behind me, not answering, but not resisting. I walked slower, not wanting to pull her arm out of its socket, or make her trip on the steps. I paused in front of the door. Last chance for sanity. But I was in her room earlier this week, and that was fine. 'Do it' a voice in my head whispered.

I felt like I was moving in slow motion, or under water, or having an out-of-body experience. I saw my hand reach out and push my door open. I watched Bella walk through it. I'd dreamed about this moment for so long. I gazed at her, standing there next to my bed, her lips moving…Damn, she just said something!

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked her, hoping she didn't now think I was a complete and utter idiot.

"I said, now your walls won't yell at you for never having any girls over," she said slowly, blushing.

"Oh," now it was my turn to blush, remembering what I'd said during that stupid boy pageant.

Bella dropped her eyes from me and looked around room. Her line of vision connected with my wall of music and books. Her face lit up and her body seemed to vibrate with excitement. Oh that I could cause that reaction in her. She stepped closer to them, reading book titles.

"You read Harry Potter?" she asked me, pulling Deathly Hallows off my shelf and clutching it fiercely to her chest. I swear this girl is perfect!

"Favorite series ever!" told her, shaking off my nerves and stepping closer. I pulled Half-Blood Prince of the shelf, caressing its spine lovingly. I glanced at Bella but her eyes were focused on my hands holding the book. The book she was holding was sagging out of her loosened arms as she watched my finger travel from the top of the book to the bottom. For the second time tonight the tip of her tongue made an appearance. I felt a tingling in the pit of my stomach. I dragged my finger back up the spine, keeping my eyes on her face. The silence was broken when the book she'd been holding landed on my floor with a thud. Her eyes flew up to mine, wide with panic and embarrassment.

"I am so sorry!" she gasped. I place my book back on the shelf, then bent to pick up the one she'd dropped.

"Don't worry about it, these books are heavy," I gave her an excuse, not wanting her to get too embarrassed and leave. Bella nodded and looked at her feet, still blushing. I sent a silent prayer of thanks to the heavens that she hadn't just run out of my room.

"Have you ever seen True Blood?" I asked her, desperate to change the subject. She nodded her head mutely, backing away from me until the backs of her legs hit my bed. She sat down gingerly, glancing at me shyly.

"I love vampires," she said softly.

"I just downloaded the opening song," I added, stepping toward my bedside table. I knelt so that I wouldn't be sticking my butt right in her face and connected my iPod to its dock, pressing play. I realized the potential awkwardness too late as the strains of Jace Everett's 'Bad Things' echoed through the room.

_When you came in the air went out_

_And all the shadows filled up with doubt_

_I don't know who you think you are,_

_But before the night is through,_

_I wanna do bad things to you…_

I was still on my knees, and I turned toward Bella. In this position she was a head above me, looking down at me. The words wrapped around us, pulling us closer, running images of heat and sweat and darkness through my mind. I raised my eyes to meet Bella's, straightening myself so our faces were closer. She leaned into me, breathing in quick little pants. The spell that had enveloped us earlier had returned. I raised my arms, they felt heavy, and placed my hands on her knees. She put her hands on top of mine, her head lowered even more. We were now directly eye to eye. If you asked me now what I saw in her eyes that let me know it was okay, I wouldn't be able to tell you, but somehow I knew she wanted it as much as I. I closed the gap between our lips, slowly settling mine onto hers. I felt her eyelashes flutter as her eyes closed and she deepened our kiss. Her hands raised, one to my shoulder, they other behind my neck. I placed one of my hands on her back, gently nudging her backward so she was lying on my bed, bracing my other arm on the bed so that I could follow. I had to breathe but I didn't want to stop kissing her. I could feel the blood rushing through my veins and my heart pounding as I opened my mouth to breathe. Bella sucked in air as well and then the tongue that had teased me all night darted out and swiped my bottom lip.

"Edward, Bella, Dinner!" Emmett called from the hallway.

We broke apart. I leapt backward, chest heaving. Bella sat up, a blush staining her cheeks.

"We should, uh," I gestured toward the doorway.

"Yeah, okay," she stood up and walked out of the room, not looking at me.

I sighed, watching her go. Our next date would clearly have to be somewhere else.


	26. A New Brand of Freak

**A/N: So, I feel like all I do is apologize in these notes, and then never get any better…so by now you are probably used to my lack of updates and I don't need to 'pologize. I will anyway. I'm sorry. I suck. I am trying to wrap this story up and I'm not sure how to do that. This was my first fic ever and when I started it, I never had a clear conclusion in my mind. Rest assured that I will be writing other things (including working on my other fic, Leave Me Alone, I'm Lonely) and beautifulmoreso and I are trying to co-write a fic as well. So if you are sad to see this one go, feel free to read my other(s) or check out some of my favorites from other writers!**

JasperPOV:

"I don't like this," I stated to no one in particular. Everyone in the room turned to look at me.

"What don't you like?" Rosalie broke the silence.

"Bella and Edward off on their own," I mumbled. Alice glared at me. "Who knows what they are doing, probably something I don't approve of!" I spoke louder this time, glaring right back at Alice.

"Jasper, we talked about it, and we all agreed we thought they should be together," Rosalie said, "What happened between then and now?"

"In theory it was okay with me," I shrugged helplessly, "In reality, I don't want any boy that close to my sister, tryin to mack on her or something,"

"This is Edward we are talking about," Emmett scoffed, "I bet he doesn't kiss her for at least a month."

"Really?" I looked up hopefully.

"I got five dollars that says two weeks," Alice interjected excitedly.

"I will happily relieve both of you of your money," Rosalie smirked, "Boy will be kissin her in less than a week!"

"What, no way!" Emmett stared at her as if she was crazy, "I can't lose this bet!"

And they were off, bickering about dollar amounts and rules and how soon Edward would kiss Bella, completely ignoring the fact that she is my sister.

"Jazz, you want in on this?" Emmett interrupted my silent worrying.

"Are you kidding?!" I yelped, "I refuse to bet about the lost innocence of my sister!"

Emmett stared at me wide-eyed, Rosalie and Alice turned to stare as well.

"What kind of guy do you think my brother is?" Emmett asked me slowly, putting a significant emphasis on the words 'my brother.'

"Em..I…" I stuttered to a halt.

"If you think she never kissed Jacob…" Alice added.

Pretty sure I am in trouble now. Esme came to my rescue, bless her, gliding into the room and announcing that dinner was ready.

I leapt to my feet, eager to put this awkwardness behind me.

"I'll go get Bella and Eddie," Emmett said, eyeing me when I tried to step forward.

"Emmett…you know I didn't mean it that way," I called to his retreating back.

Emmett turned around and grinned at me, "It's coo…don't even trip," and then bounded up the stairs.

**********************************************************************

BellaPOV:

Dinner was awkward. I couldn't meet Edward's eyes, but I couldn't stop glancing at him. Jasper was glaring at me suspiciously, and Rosalie had a look of smug superiority. Poor Esme and Carlisle tried to keep the conversation going, but Alice and Emmett were the only two who responded with more than monosyllables.

When we'd finished eating Jasper suggested the whole group watch a movie. His death-ray eyes made it impossible to say no. I was, in fact, slightly relieved. Who the heck kisses a boy ten minutes into their first almost-date? And because she was seduced by Harry Potter and True Blood? I must be some new brand of freak.

I sat on the couch and Edward sat next to me, not touching me. Both our bodies were stiff and I wanted nothing more than to leave. Jasper seemed eased by the complete lack of couple-ness between Edward and I, because he settled on the floor with Alice between his legs and stopped shooting us dirty looks.

The lights were dim and I wanted nothing more than to sink into the couch, maybe have Edward put his arm around me, but I was too nervous. Thirty minutes into the movie Edward popped up suddenly.

"Popcorn?" he phrased it as a question, but he was already heading toward the kitchen.

"I'll help," I scrambled after him, almost tripping on a particularly devious piece of air. Why am I such a klutz? Jasper made a movement, as if he wanted to follow, but Alice stayed him with a touch of her hand on his thigh.

I stepped into the kitchen, blinking owlishly in the sudden brightness. Edward was leaning against the counter, looking lost.

"I came to help," I said lamely, regretting my decision.

"We don't have any popcorn," was all he said.

"Oh, well…I wasn't hungry anyway," I stood there, hesitating between stepping closer to him and turning and running out of the room. I'd just decided on option B when Edward spoke again.

"I'm sorry," he looked pained, and angry.

"For what?" I asked him cautiously.

"For practically mauling you in my bedroom earlier!" he exclaimed, looking at me incredulously.

"Edward…" I sighed, unsure how to word what I was about to say, "Jasper is my brother, I could have defended myself if I'd wanted to."

"Still, it was too fast, we hadn't even had a real date," Edward mumbled, staring at what must be an extremely interesting spot on the floor.

"I agree," I said, "We should take it slowly." Edward lifted his head quickly, searching my face.

"You would still go on a date with me?" It surprised me that someone like Edward could be so unsure of himself.

"Sure, I agreed it was too fast, not that I didn't like it," I blushed at my own boldness, and it was my turn to stare at the floor.

"Maybe we could grab an early dinner on Sunday?" he was scuffing his toe against the floor now, and a little part of me was excited at how shy he was.

"Like in two days?" I asked and he nodded, "Okay, sure," we were looking anywhere but at each other and I knew we should return to the other room, but I somehow couldn't force my feet to move. I looked up, finally meeting his eyes, and they were full of something unfathomable. I bit my lip, "So…."

"Yeah…"


	27. A girl and a boy

**A/N: Please see end of chapter for notes.**

Bella POV:

_Kiss me kiss me kiss me…_

I was staring at the bronze-haired boy in front of me, trying with all my might to tell him telepathically that I was ready to move our relationship to the next level. _Why can't you read minds, Edward?!_ This is getting frustrating.

It has been three weeks, one day, four hours and approximately thirty minutes since the last time he kissed me properly. Yeah, you heard me right. Apparently Edward took my "too fast" comment to heart a little too strongly, because since that first night in his bedroom, things have been moving…slowly. As in, I could be thirty before I get felt up. Sure, he occasionally brushes the top of my head with his lips, or kisses my forehead, my cheek, but there are no passionate battles, lips and teeth, biting and pulling and hands roaming.

I hesiated, back against the door, hand on the knob, trying to give him one last chance to make a move.

"Bella, I…" he whispered, leaning toward me. _This is it!_ The door opened and I fell backwards into Jasper.

"Bella! Charlie and I were wondering where you were," Jasper pushed me upright, smirking at me.

I scowled at him before turning to face Edward again.

"Goodnight," I smiled at his look of consternation. At least I could take comfort in the fact that I am 99% certain that he had been about to kiss me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Bella," he spoke softly, "Sweet dreams."

I sighed as Jasper shut the door, not even waiting for Edward to walk away.

Jasper said something to me, but I ignored him, dragging myself up the stairs.

I sighed again as I flopped onto my bed. I had been doing that a lot lately, sighing. When I look at him, or when I think about him (which is all the time) I can't help myself.

He is everything I ever wanted in a guy, cute, sweet, hot, caring, attractive, smart, funny, and did I mention he looks good as well?

He respects my opinion, he encourages my hopes and dreams, shares his with me.

I don't think I could love a more perfect…wait, what? Love? Do I love him?

I want to scream…in excitement, from nerves, I don't even know what.

I slammed my face into the pillow, muffling my hysterical giggling, and kicked my legs against the bed.

_I am in love!_ I sang it in my head.

_I am in love._ I was more serious this time.

_I am in love with Edward_…I repeated it with awe now.

_I love him!_ I was giddy at this point.

My phone vibrated underneath me, startling me out of my joyful realization and into the dim, stuffiness of my bedroom.

It was a text. From Edward. I hesitated, staring at my shadow on the wall, somehow nervous to read it. _You're being silly_, I thought to myself firmly, flipping my phone open with unnecessary force.

**Meet me out front, midnight.**

I think I read the words three times before it hit me that Edward, (super polite, never in trouble, straight-laced Edward) wanted me to sneak out of my house, breaking curfew, to see him. Nerves sat in the bottom of my stomach like I'd swallowed a vibrating ball of lead. Why tonight? What did he need to say that he couldn't have said during the three hours we spent in each others' presence this evening? What prompted him to get all Romeo meets the 21st century on me?

Did I want to go? Hell yes. Would I? That required more thought. I had never tried to sneak out of the house. Had never even contemplated it. It couldn't be all that hard. It's not like Charlie would even think to take precaution's to prevent it. I was his baby girl, and had never given him cause to mistrust me.

I caught my reflection in the window and smiled wryly at myself. Who am I kidding? There is no way I am not meeting Edward tonight.

I surveyed my closet, wishing for the first time in my life that Alice were actually here to create an outfit appropriate for sneaking out of the house, but still attractive.

I sighed, finally settling on dark jeans, a plain black t-shirt and my sneakers. I looked longingly at my hoodie, but opted for a fitted jacket instead when Alice's repeated admonishment to quit hiding my figure flitted through my brain.

I brushed my hair into a low ponytail, changed my clothes, flipped my light off, and sat on my bed. I waited, rigid, breathing shallow, alone in the dark, moonlight barely shining through the tree branches at my window. I could hear the grandfather clock ticking the minutes by slowly and, blessedly, Charlie's soft snores. At 11:55 I slid quietly off my bed, pulled on the jacket and grabbed my shoes. I opened my door, sliding out and shutting it with a soft click. I held my breath the entire trek down the stairs, pausing on each step to assure myself that no one was stirring. The front door is directly under Jasper's room, so I made my way through the kitchen to the back door. I put my shoes on, said a quick prayer, and opened the back door. Nary a squeak of betrayal from the hinges as I stepped out into the crisp, cold air and pulled the door shut.

I wanted to laugh, throw my arms in the air in victory, my first attempt at being bad was swimming along successfully.

I walked carefully around the house towards the front.

"Bella!" Edward's whispered call startled me, but I didn't make a sound as I turned towards him. He was leaning against the tree outside my window, coat collar turned up.

He started off down the street, silent, and I followed. It occurred to me, as I shadowed him, that I would follow him anywhere, anytime, without question. It scared me, this desire to always be with him, and my breathing stuttered for a moment as the enormity of my feelings pressed into my chest.

He opened the car door for me, and I gratefully folded myself into the seat, glad to be out of the chilly night.

Edward walked around the car and gracefully settled into the driver's seat, pulling away from the curb, still silent.

Edward guided the car down the road, hands relaxed on the steering wheel, eyes straight ahead. I kept sneaking shy glances, hoping to get some clue to his feelings, a tight jaw, a white knuckle, but I was to be denied. He looked relaxed, and although he did not smile I got the sense that he was happy, content to just drive in silence with me by his side.

We were headed towards his house, but before we even came near his driveway, he pulled of the road and down a hidden trail, his precious Volvo bumping along dirt ruts, branches scraping the side. I have no concept of what distance we traveled except that I had counted the number of times he tapped his pinky finger on the wheel. Twenty seven. That finger was the only traitorous part of him, letting me know he wasn't as calm as he looked. I smiled gently, glad to have a spy on my side…and then realized that I am a crazy person.

After that twenty-seventh tap, he halted the car. He grabbed a back pack from the trunk, and then came to help me out.

"We have to walk for a little bit," he told me apologetically, grasping my hand to steady me as I stood up.

"You do realize that I am quite possibly the clumsiest person in all of Forks?" I teased him a little, emboldened by the fact that he had not let my hand go.

Edward shut the door to his car, and with out the interior light, inky blackness surrounded us. Edward walked slowly forward, and I was amazed that he could see well enough to know where to go. I stepped carefully, a little afraid of the dark, but trusting that he would keep me safe. My hand felt warm in his despite the cold that nipped at my cheeks.

I stumbled only twice, never falling, before we broke through a wall of trees and into a clearing. No…it was more than that, a meadow that stretched before me, seeming huge against the darkness of the woods. The moon hung high above us, illuminating the space, glinting off the occasional rock or flower. I stared in wonderment, cold forgotten, at the beauty surrounding me.

"It's amazing by day," Edward spoke softly, as if speaking too loud would break the spell, "but they said maybe snow on the news and I wanted you to see this place before it was covered in white."

Still I said nothing, though my heart was full, overflowing with things I couldn't express about this place, this moment, this man next to me.

He released my hand gently, pulling a blanket out of the back pack and walking away from me to spread it almost in the center of the meadow.

I followed him, dazed, and when he lay down on his back, I did too.

I picked his hand up in mine, lacing our fingers together, gazing at the moon. I could hear the wind whispering, the soft crinkling of the grass under my head, and his breathing, soft, comforting. I reveled in this feeling, the sensation of being completely in love, not just with him, but with the place, the smell, the sound, this one perfect night that made me think, no… _know_, that everything, _everything_, was right.

I turned my head, caressing the planes and shadows of his face with my wandering eyes. He was beautiful, skin pearly in the moonlight, hair glinting darkly, and I couldn't stop the sigh that escaped my lips.

He turned his head at my small sound, his eyes dark and unreadable, searching my face as if it could unlock my secrets. And I knew. There would never be a better time than this, a moment more tailor-made for sharing the secrets of my heart.

"I love you," It was more breath than words, hovering in the air between our faces.

A pleased smile stole across his lips, and his free hand came up to tangle in my hair.

"I love you too," the words danced across my nerve endings and I shivered in delight.

I could travel around the world, see every continent, and never would the journey be as agonizingly wonderful as closing the distance between his lips and mine.

It wasn't a long kiss, or particularly passionate, there would be plenty of time in the future for that. This was a simple meeting, soft and sweet. I scooted as close to him as I could get, content for the moment to just **_be_**. A girl. And a boy. In love.

The End

**A/N: So...this is my last chapter for this story. As my first fic, I think it is obvious that my writing has changed over time, and I think that this story has played its role as my practice very well. There will be no Epilogue, no Sequel. Please don't hate me! I have never asked for reviews, but I will break that rule this once. Please let me know what you think, about this chapter, about this whole story, hell, you can give me your opinion on me as well. I would love to hear from you, and will absolutely respond to 100% of the reviews I receive. Don't forget to check out my other fic, or go to my list of favorites for some ah-may-zing fics by others! I would like to give a super big thank you to my bffl beautifulmoreso for always encouraging me and being my muse, and for letting me be hers. (Hey lady, what is the plural of muse? Muses? Musi?)  
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